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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



INTERNAL EVIDENCE 



THE HOLY BIBLE 



THE BIBLE PROVED FROM ITS OWN PAGES 



A DIVINE REVELATION. 



By J. J. JANEWAY, D. D. 






PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 

1845, 






Entered according* to the act of Congress, in the year 1845, by A* 
W. Mitchell, M. D., in the office of the Clerk of the District Court 
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 




Printed by 
Wm. S. Martien. 



RECOMMENDATION. 



Princeton, June 23d, 1845. 

Reverend and Dear Brother, 

I thank you for the opportunity which you have kindly 
atTorded me of looking over your remarks on " The Internal 
Evidence of the Holy Bible." I have availed myself of this 
opportunity with real pleasure ; and though constrained by 
my avocations, and the state of my eyes, to make my peru- 
sal more cursory than I would have wished ; yet I have read 
enough to make me desirous that the w^ork should be pub- 
lished, which I feel prepared, without hesitation, to advise. 
It is true that this department of the evidences of Christianity 
has been frequently and ably treated ; but it appears to me 
that there is yet room for further treatment ; and unless I 
am greatly deceived, what you have written, will be deemed, 
by the enlightened friends of the Bible, altogether worthy of 
the public eye. 

You have made it appear, beyond controversy, that the 
spirit of the Bible, both in its doctrinal system, and in its 
moral code, is far more rational, pure, benevolent, and adapt- 
ed to promote individual and social happiness than any other 
ever proposed to human acceptance. It is impossible for 
any thinking candid man to doubt, that any community in 
which that spirit should be truly and thoroughly reduced to 
practice, would be the happiest community in the world. 
From what source could such a spirit come ? From impos- 
ture ? from falsehood ? Impossible ! As well might we 
suppose darkness to produce light, or death life. No, purity 
so unmixed, benevolence so God-like, wisdom so consum- 



4 RECOMMENDATION. 

mate and unerring, a system in all its parts, so perfectly 
adapted to refine and elevate man, must have come from 
that infinitely great and holy Being, from whom every good 
and perfect gift cometh down. After all the best products 
of human wisdom, and human benevolence that we can col- 
lect, there is something in the Bible as much above them 
all, " as the heavens are higher than the earth." 

In addressing this letter to you, acknowledging my plea- 
sure in the perusal of your manuscript, and soliciting your 
consent to its publication, I have two motives. One is dis- 
interested ; having for its object, to promote the giving to the 
public, through the press, a work, which I trust will be the 
means of doing good long after you and I shall have gone 
to our eternal rest. The other is more personal, and what 
some would, perhaps, call selfish. It is to place a record 
on this humble page, which may inform my children that 
the beloved and venerated author of this little volume was 
their father's friend ; and that an unbroken and confiding 
intercourse of nearly fifty years united us to one another, 
and, as we humbly trust, in sanctified fellowship, in the 
church of God. 

That you may long continue to serve your generation by 
the will of God, and to enjoy the consolations of that gospel 
which you preach to others, is the unfeigned prayer of, my 
dear sir, your affectionate brother in Christ, 

SAMUEL MILLER. 
Rev. J. J. Janeway, D. D. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

CHAPTER I. 
god's plan for giving and preserving his revelation, Page 13 

The Bible is composed of a number of smaller books, p, 14. Diversity 
of the books, 14. Many writers, 15. Attestation of revelation, 17. 
Revelation, how preserved, 21. Change in the mode of worship, 
23. No impostor would attempt such a change, 26. The change 
consonant to the wisdom of God, 27. Conclusion of the argu- 
ment, 28. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE MIRACLES NARRATED, AND WROUGHT BY MOSES, 31 

CHAPTER III. 

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES, 40 

Remarks, 40. A fact assumed, 45. Reasoning on the supposition 
that Moses's writings were received by his contemporaries, 46. 
Force of the Israelites' testimony, 53. Reasoning on the opposite 
supposition, b5. Illustration, 57. Conclusion of the argument, 59 

CHAPTER IV. 

MIRACLES OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES, 60 

The gift of tongues, 67. 

1* 



o CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES, PttgB 68 

Remarks, 68. Reception of the New Testament writings a proof of 
the reality of miracles, 72. 

CHAPTER VI. 

PROPHECIES, 77 

Genesis iii. 14, 15 explained, 77. Genesis xv. 13, 14 explained, 81. 
Difficulties removed, 83. Gen, xvii. 5j 6, explained, 86. Gen. xlix. 
8-10 explained, 87. Jericho, 89. 

CHAPTER VII. 

PROPHECIES, 90 

The writer of the two books of Kings a credible witness, 90. Proofs 
of his credibility, 91. Illustration, 93. Prophecies in these books, 
95. Review, 114. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH, 116 

Capture and burning of Jerusalem, 116. Restoration of the Jews, 
118. Capture of Babylon, 119. Fulfilment of the prediction 
about the Jews' restoration, 120. Review, 121. 

CHAPTER IX. 

PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST, AND THEIR FULFILMENT, 124 

Sundry particulars, 124. Remarks, 133. The testimony and proof, 
that all these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ are ample, 
136. 

CHAPTER X. 

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST THE GREAT MIRACLE, 137 

Argument from his appearances, 139. Argument from the wonders 
wrought on the day of Pentecost, 144. Argument from the con- 
version of the apostle Paul, 149. 



CONTENTS. 



PART II. 



CHAPTER I. 

WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES OF GOD, Page 159 

It teaches the unity of God, 159. The eternity of God, 163. The 
independent greatness of God, 164. The Omnipresence of God, 
165. The Omniscience of God, 165. The wisdom, power, good- 
ness, justice, &c., of God, 166. It reveals God as the Creator, 167. 
As the Preserver and Benefactor of his creatures, 169. As the Sove- 
reign and Almighty Ruler of the Universe, 171. As the Judge 
of the World, 172. Manner of the sacred writers, 174. 



CHAPTER 11. 

WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES OF MAN, 175 

The natural history of man, 175. The moral history of man, 177. 
The future history of our race, 179. Inspiration of the sacred 
writers, 182. 

CHAPTER in. 

THE MORAL CODE OF THE BIBLE, 184 

The summaries of duty found in the Bible, 184. The details of 
duty, 186. The spiritual nature of the moral code, 188. Perfec- 
tion of the moral code, 190. The end of the moral system incul- 
cated in the Bible is the glory of God, 194. The sanctions of the 
Bible, 196. Examples of piety and obedience in the Bible, 198. 
Provision made for securing obedience to the moral code, 200. 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

ARGUMENTS FROM THE MORAL CODE, P^ig^ 202 

The superiority of the moral system in the Bible, is evidence of its 
divine original and authority, 202. Perfection of the moral code 
a proof of its inspiration, 204. Its exemption from the debasing 
influence of human depravity a proof of inspiration, 206. The 
provision made for obedience to its moral system, a proof of its in- 
spiration, 208. 

CHAPTER V. 

REDEMPTION THE WORK OF GOD, 213 

The contrivance of the plan of redemption, 214. The development 
of this scheme, as taught in the Bible, 217. Its execution, 223. 
The application of redemption, 232. The benefits and results of 
redemption, 233. The consummation of redemption, 234. Argu- 
ment from a review, 236. 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF 
FALLEN MAN, 240 

The Bible dispels the darkness of the human mind in regard to spirit- 
ual things, 240. Shows how human guilt may be removed, 244. 
Furnishes the believer a perfect righteousness, 246. Provides for 
his deliverance, 251. The Bible inspires the believer with a firm 
and unwavering belief of an overruling Providence, 255. Fur- 
nishes him with support and consolation under afflictions, 258. 
Delivers him from the fear of death, and inspires him with a hope 
of immortality, 260. 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE, 265 

Influence in forming man's character, 265. In promoting man's 
happiness, 274. Influence on domestic society, 279. Conclu- 
sion, 282. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The Bible claims to be a revelation from God ; given as 
a guide to our faith, and a rule for our conduct. It pro- 
fesses to furnish us with instruction which reason could not 
offer: to teach us the misery and danger of our condition as 
sinners ; how to escape that danger, and how to obtain de- 
liverance from our misery. In a word, it professes to teach 
the way of life ; how we may avoid eternal death, and secure 
eternal life ; how from being the heirs of everlasting misery, 
we may become the heirs of everlasting happiness. 

Can the claims of this book be sustained 1 Is it a revela- 
tion from God? Was it written under the inspiration of his 
Holy Spirit? Has it authority to regulate our faith and 
practice? Can it lead us in the path to heaven? These 
are important questions ; worthy of the most careful investi- 
gation of every rational creature. 

This book was put into our hands by our parents, who 
told us that it was inspired, and contained a divine revela- 
tion. In deference to their authority, we, while in our 
youthful days, and incapable of investigating its claims, re- 
ceived it as invested with the high and commanding charac- 
ter attributed to it by our parents. 

But when the human mind is so far developed as to be- 
come capable of examining and appreciating evidence, it is 
no longer our duty to remain satisfied with reliance on pa- 
rental judgment and authority. We are not only permitted, 
but required to examine for ourselves the claims of the 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

Bible, to regulate our faith and practice. God treats us as 
rational creatures. Whenever he addresses a message to 
us, he will doubtless accompany it with evidence sufficient 
to convince any candid and teachable mind, that he does 
really speak to us. 

The claims of the Bible will bear the most rigid examina- 
tion. Investigation will prove them to be well founded. 
Its divine authority and inspiration can be evinced by evi- 
dence of the clearest and most convincing kind. Intelligent 
men, in every age, have regarded the evidence as fully 
satisfactory ; and sufficient to render all who, through negli- 
gence, refuse to examine, or who, from love of sin, turn 
away from it, utterly inexcusable. 

The evidence that establishes the divine authority of the 
Bible, is of two kinds ; external and internal. 

The external evidence is derived from well authenticated 
miracles, from the fulfilment of prophecies, from the writings 
of heathen authors, and primitive Christians, and from the 
establishment and preservation of revealed religion in the 
world, amidst ail the difficulties it had to encounter ; and 
the wonderful success of the gospel, at the commencement 
of its glorious career in the first centuries. A thorough ex- 
amination of this department of evidence, would demand 
much time and extensive reading. It is worthy of the atten- 
tion of those who have leisure and ability for the investiga- 
tion. On this kind of evidence Christian writers have chief- 
ly dwelt, and have exhibited it with great force and strength. 
Many volumes, small and large, have been published, filled 
with convincing and powerful reasoning. They have com- 
batted with the enemies of the Bible, and defeated them. 

The internal evidence of the truth of the Bible has not 
been overlooked ; different portions of it have been discussed 
with clearness and force, by able writers ; but in the au- 
thor's opinion, it has not been so fully discussed as the exter- 
nal. He has never seen this class of evidence exhibited in 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

one comprehensive view. Yet, in his judgment, it is by far 
the strongest, most convincing, and best adapted to the popu- 
lar mind ; and indeed to every mind that can be brought duly 
to examine and weigh it. Under this impression, while 
teaching the evidences of Christianity to the students in 
Rutgers College, he determined to prepare a course of lec- 
tures on the subject. In 1839, he had written five lectures, 
or nearly one half of this volume ; but finding, owing to the 
pressure of other studies on the students, no opportunity 
could be had for reading them to the classes, he laid aside 
his plan, and ceased the preparation of his intended course. 

Towards the close of the last year, he was induced to re- 
sume his plan, with a view to its completion. In executing 
it he has confined himself strictly to the internal evidence of 
the divine authority of the Bible, which is derived from this 
blessed book itself. So incorporated is it with the sacred 
pages by its great Author, that it becomes more and more- 
convincing, just in proportion as a person studies the Bible, 
and renders his mind familiar with its interesting contents. 

All the works of God bear the impress of his adorable 
perfections. In creation and providence we see such plain 
and convincing evidence, that we cannot doubt that the 
heavens and the earth were the production of an infinite 
Being, and are upheld and governed by him to whom they 
owe their existence. 

If the Bible is the production of infinite wisdom and good- 
ness, it is reasonable to expect to find impressed on it marks 
of the Divine hand, that guided. the minds of the penmen, 
who were employed to write its several portions. According- 
ly, on a careful investigation, the signatures of its divine 
Author will be found plainly impressed on its pages. To 
convince the reader of this, it is proposed to exhibit, in the 
following chapters, those internal evidences of the divine 
authority of the Bible, which will, in the writer's judgment, 
be the most satisfactory and convincing. 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

The argument will be distributed under the following 
heads : 

I. The Divine Plan, as exhibited in the Bible, for giving, 
establishing, and preserving a revelation among men. 

II. The Miracles recorded in the Bible. 

III. The fulfilment of Prophecies recorded in the Bible. 

IV. The contents of the Bible in regard to the perfections 
and relations of God, and the history of man. 

V. The moral code of the Bible. 

VI. The wonderful work of Redemption. 

VII. The adaptation of the Bible to the wants and neces- 
sities of fallen man. 

VIII. The beneficial influence of the Bible in forming the 
character and in promoting the happiness of man, and in 
purifying and elevating human society. 



THE BIBLE A DIVINE EEYELATION. 



CHAPTER I. 

god's plan for giving and preserving his revelation. 

The first argument in favour of the Divine authority 
of the Bible, is derived from the plan exhibited in it 
for giving, establishing, and preserving a revelation 
in the world. 

To prescribe how God ought to communicate a 
revelation, would not become his erring and incompe- 
tent creatures. But when a book is put into our 
hands claiming to be his message to us, we are at 
liberty to inquire how it was made ; whether it was 
communicated in a way suited to his Majesty, and 
corresponding to our rational nature. Let us then 
look at his plan as exhibited in the Scriptures. 

On examination, we find the Bible to be composed 
of a number of smaller books; that these books were 
written by many different persons ; that these writers 
came successively after each other in respect to time, 
and some at remote periods from each other; that 
their commissions from heaven were attested by very 
extraordinary proof; that for the preservatiou'of God's 
revelation, a whole nation was selected and settled in 
a favourable part of the world, and watched over by 

2 



14 

a singular and miraculous providence, for many ages, 
till Messiah came; and ihat^bythe Christian revelation, 
a very remarkable change in the external form of 
Divine worship, was produced. Such are the outlines 
of the Divine plan. Let us examine them more par- 
ticularly. 

SECTION I. 

THE BIBLE IS COMPOSED OF A NUMBER OF SMALLER BOOKS. 

In various ways God might have furnished a reve- 
lation. The book might have been prepared in 
heaven by the ministry of angels, and then sent down 
to this world duly attested; or it might have been 
written with his own finger, as the ten command- 
ments were engraven by him on tables of stone. But, 
in making known to us his mind and will, he was 
pleased to employ the agency of men, writing, under 
the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, their assigned 
portions of his revelation, to be collected in due time 
into one volume. 



SECTION II, 

DIVERSITY OF THE BOOIi. 

These various books, composing our Scriptures, 
were written in various ways, and are characterized 
by great variety of style. 

The first five books contain a sketch of the world's 
history from the creation to Moses's time; laws, cere- 
monies, political arrangements, public addresses, and 
an account of the formation and erection of a taber- 
nacle for Divine worship. The twelve books next 
succeeding are made up chiefly of historical details of 



FOR A REVELATION. 15 

God's dealing, with his peculiar people. Then follows 
the poetical book of Job ; designed to illustrate princi- 
ples of Divine providence, to correct mistakes often 
adopted in reference to it, and to show the duty and 
importance of patient submission to affliction. Next 
come the Psalms of David, which breathe such an 
elevated spirit of poetry ; abounding with such warm, 
animated, and sublime songs of praise to Jehovah; 
which have, for so many ages, directed, assisted, and 
enlivened the worship of the pious. The Psalms are 
followed by the writings of Solomon, replete with 
very valuable maxims for regulating our conduct, and 
furnishing his readers with a just estimate of temporal 
enjoyments. To all which is added a large number 
of books, filled with predictions, relating to the Jews, 
to surrounding nations, to the church, and to the 
world. Thus is that part of the Bible, which is de- 
nominated the Old Testament, constituted. 

The New Testament is composed of several books 
of biography and history, a number of epistles, didac- 
tic and hortatory ; and at the close, the book of Reve- 
lation, containing a prophetic history of the church 
and the world to the end of time. In this manner 
was the Bible formed. 



SECTION III. 

MANY WRITERS. 

Individuals of various endowments, both natural 
and acquired, were employed as instruments for con- 
veying God's revelation to his church. 

Some, like David and Isaiah, had elevated and com- 
prehensive minds, while others had nothing more 
than plain, common understandings. Some, as Moses 



16 



and Paul, were instructed in all the learning of the 
schools, and others were uneducated and illiterate 
men, taken from low and mean occupations of life. 

Shepherds and kings, lawgivers and fishermen, are 
to be found among the inspired writers. They lived 
in different periods of time. Between Moses, who 
stands at the head of the list, and John, who is found 
at the close, intervened nearly sixteen hundred years. 
Thus remote from each other as to time, and differing 
as to occupations, it is obvious that, in respect to 
habits, views, and sentiments, they must, in several 
things, have differed much from one another. Yet 
these men, thus differing in habits of life, in sentiments, 
in education, in natural and acquired endowments, 
and thus living in different and distant periods of time, 
God was pleased to employ as instruments to deliver 
his messages of mercy and grace to the world, and to 
write each his assigned portion of the Bible. 

Here let us pause, and review this part of God's 
plan. How perfectly obvious is it, that no single 
impostor, designing to impose a forgery on the world, 
would adopt this plan; requiring by the number and 
diversified characters of its professed writers, such 
variety of style, as no one man could possibly furnish ! 
Is it not equally plain that no set of men wishing to 
give currency to forged writings, would have repre- 
sented them as having been written in different ages, 
and delivered to the same people, and consequently 
known to that people from the date of the delivery of 
each portion? Attempts to propagate forged writings 
on such a plan, common sense would teach impostors 
could not possibly succeed. The total ignorance of 
the writings by the people, in whose possession they 
were, on this plan, represented to have been, would be 



FOR A REVELATION. 17 

a public refutation of the assertions of the impostors 
and proclaim to all their impudent pretensions. 

But such a plan of communicating a revelation, was 
perfectly proper to be adopted by a Being who lives 
through all time; who can use the style of any writer, 
and inspire and control any mind; and who can make 
messages delivered by different men, in different 
periods, and on different occasions, and to different 
generations, all to harmonize in forming one consist- 
ent and glorious system of divine truth. 

SECTION IV. 

ATTESTATION OF REVELATION. 

The extraordinary proof by which the commission 
of inspired writers was attested, constitutes an impor- 
tant feature in the Divine plan. 

They were Miracles and Prophecy. 

When Moses received his commission to deliver 
the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, he was autho- 
rized to present miraculous signs to his countrymen 
to convince them of his Divine appointment, and to 
dispose them to accept him as their deliverer, and to 
confide in his power to act as such : and he was also 
empowered to work numerous and stupendous mira- 
cles to convince the king of Egypt of his Divine com- 
mission, to break down and subdue his proud and 
obstinate spirit, and finally to force from him a reluc- 
tant compliance with the Divine command, to let the 
enslaved people go from their cruel bondage. 

When the Son of God appeared in human form on 
earth, to set up the Christian dispensation, his descent 
from heaven, and commission to act as God's ambas- 
sador extraordinary, were attested by innumerable 

2* 



18 gob's plan 

miracles. He opened the eyes of the bhnd; he un- 
stopped the ears of the deaf; he restored the withered 
arm ; he gave feet to the lame ; he healed all manner 
of diseases; he raised the dead; he controled, by his 
word, the tempestuous wind, and the raging waves of 
the sea. To his miracles he appealed as convincing 
proof, that he had come from God. ^'Then came the 
Jews round about him, and said unto him. How long 
dost thou make us to doubt ? If thou be the Christ, 
tell us plainly. Jesus answered, I told you, and ye 
believed not: the works that I do in my Father's 
name, they bear witness of me." — " If I do not the 
works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, 
though ye believe not me, yet believe the works: that 
ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, 
and I in him."* 

When the Apostles were sent forth to preach the 
gospel, they were empowered to prove their commis- 
sion, by working miracles. ^^And when he had call- 
ed unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power 
against unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal 
all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." 
— ^^And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of 
heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, 
raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have re- 
ceived, freely give."—" How shall we escape, if we 
neglect so great salvation; which at the first began 
to be spoken by our Lord, and was confirmed unto 
us by them that heard him; God also bearing wit- 
ness both with signs and wonders and with divers 
miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according 
to his own will."t Not only were the Apostles 
enabled to prove their commission by miraculous 

* John X. 24, 25. 37, 38. t Matt, x, 2. 7, 8, Heb. ii. 3, 4. 



FOR A REVELATION. 19 

signs, but their disciples also were honoured by similar 
extraordinary signs of their union to Jesus Christ. 
"And these signs shall follow them that beheve ;'^ 
was the Saviour's promise; "In my name shall they 
cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 
they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any 
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them ; they shall lay 
hands on the sick^ and they shall recover.^'* 

By working miracles many of the sacred writers 
proved that they were sent by God to deliver his mes- 
sages. Others established their commission from hea- 
ven, by the fulfilment of some previously uttered 
prophecy; or were recognized as being inspired to 
deliver divine oracles, by prophets of established repu- 
tation. The prophecies contained in the Bible are 
very numerous; they spread through this sacred 
volume, from the beginning to the end. Many of them 
have, we believe, received an exact and wonderful ac- 
complishment, while others remain yet to be fulfilled. 

Such are the singular and very extraordinary proofs, 
which, according to scriptural representation, have 
been offered to confirm the truth of that revelation 
which the Bible contains. No other religion besides the 
Jewish and Christian religions, was ever founded on 
such proof. Paganism and Mahomedanism have 
indeed, after their estabhshment in the world, talked 
of their miracles, and boasted of their wonders ; but 
certainly they were not introduced to the notice of 
mankind by extraordinary displays of Divine power ; 
much less did they appeal, in confirmation of their 
truth to miracles publicly wrought, and open to the 
inspection of witnesses of every description. No im- 
postor would dare to put his pretensions to inspiration 

* Mark xvi. 17, 18. 



20 god's plan 

to such a test ; because it would soon expose his impiety, 
and prostrate all his hopes of succeeding in his at- 
tempts to impose on the credulity of mankind. Much 
less would an impostor have the temerity to sustain 
his claims to a divine commission, by plain prophecies 
in relation to future events manifestly beyond the 
reach of human foresight to be fulfilled in a short 
period ; because he would know that the non-fulfil- 
ment of his predictions would soon put him to shame, 
by proclaiming his folly and wickedness. 

But the Jewish and the Christian religions were 
expressly sustained by miracles and prophecies. The 
sacred writers, in support of their claims to inspiration, 
boldly appealed to miracles which they wrought in 
open day before multitudes, and to which they chal- 
lenged the attention of their enemies, as well as their 
friends ; and they have left on record predictions that 
were to be fulfilled, age after age; and which invite 
the scrutiny of all who feel inclined to expose their 
authors, by refuting their truth. 

Contemplate this singular proof. Does not the very 
ofl'er carry with it presumptive evidence of the truth 
of the Bible, which rests its claims on proofs so far be- 
yond the power of man, and beyond the reach of the 
human mind? Would any but individuals who felt 
assured of being sent by Heaven, have dared to offer 
such credentials? Does not this part of the plan as 
exhibited in the Scriptures, wear on its face the im- 
press of Divine wisdom and power? Such a plan 
accords with the power of God, which can work mira- 
cles at his pleasure, and the wisdom of God, which 
can utter prophecies certainly to be fulfilled at the 
appointed time, whether in the course of a few years, 
or in far distant ages. 



FOR A REVELATION. 21 

SECTION V. 

KEVELATION, HOW PRESERVED. 

Another constituent part of the Divine plan, is seen 
in the wonderful provision made for preserving every 
portion of revelation, as successively given to the 
Church. 

For its preservation a whole nation was selected by 
God, and separated by peculiar laws from all other 
nations, and watched over, guarded, and defended by 
an extraordinary and miraculous providence. To 
this singular people, the descendants of Abraham, 
were committed the oracles of God ; to be by them 
preserved pure and entire, and handed down from 
generation to generation, till Messiah should come. 
When he came, he entrusted the keeping of his Scrip- 
tures to the care and fidelity of the Christian Church, 
collected by his apostles out of all nations. ^' And it 
came to pass, when Moses had made an end of wri- 
ting the words of this law in a book, until they were 
finished; that Moses commanded the Levites which 
bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take 
this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark 
of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be 
a witness against thee.^^^ In like manner all other 
portions of the Old Testament were delivered by their 
authors to responsible persons of the Jewish people, 
for preservation. In answer to a question, "What 
advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there 
in circumcision?^^ the apostle Paul replies, "Much 
every way: chiefly because unto them were commit- 
ted the oracles of God.'^t 

* Deut. xxxi. 24—26. t Rom. iii. 1, 2. 



22 god's plan 

That this people were faithful to their trust, we 
have ample testimony from history to satisfy us. 
They were indeed a rebellious and wicked nation; 
relapsing, time after time, into idolatry and flagrant 
off'ences against the God of their fathers 5 but they 
were never guilty of attempting to corrupt or mutilate 
his word. No such charge was ever brought against 
them by their prophets, who did not fail to reprove 
their sins in the plainest and most pungent manner. 
The corrupt glosses put on the sacred Scriptures by 
the Scribes and Pharisees, the Redeemer exposed and 
refuted; but he never reproved them for corrupting 
or mutilating the word itself 

The Jews preserved the written word, entire and 
pure, with the most scrupulous care. They counted 
all the letters of the Old Testament, that none might 
be lost. Every copy of the Scriptures was carefully 
examined by an appointed number of their wise men. 

If on examination a copy was found to have four or 
five faults, it was rejected and destroyed. But copies 
found to be correct were treated with the highest reve- 
rence. When they took these perfect copies into their 
hands, they kissed them with great solemnity; and 
w^hen they laid them down, they repeated the same 
act of high veneration. 

It was, we are told by Philo and Josephus, instilled 
into the minds of the youth of the Jewish nation, as a 
principle, to run any danger, and to submit to a thou- 
sand deaths, rather than suffer any alteration or any 
diminution of their sacred books.^ 

* Howe, vol. 2. p. 462. 



FOR A REVELATION. 23 

SECTION VI. 

CHANGE IN THE MODE OF WORSHIP. 

The great extraordinary change in the mode of 
conducting Divine worship that occurred after the 
advent of Jesus Christy forms another remarkable 
feature in the Divine plan. 

From the time of Moses till the coming of the Re- 
deemer, the worship of the Supreme Being was con- 
ducted with many ceremonies, and with great outward 
pomp and splendour. In the wilderness, a tabernacle 
with several apartments, was, by Divine direction, 
constructed ; and afterwards the temple at Jerusalem 
was built at great expense, and with the utmost magni- 
ficence, in accordance with an inspired plan delivered 
by David to his son Solomon. At the tabernacle 
first, and subsequently at the temple, all the sacrifices 
of the nation were required to be offered. None 
were allowed to be offered in any other place, under 
pain of Divine displeasure. For the maintenance of 
religion, and the conducting of Divine worship, a 
whole tribe was set apart ; divided into Priests and 
Levites, to whom were assigned distinct and appro- 
priate offices ; over whom presided the High Priest, 
who alone was permitted to make the nearest ap- 
proach to the God of Israel, annually on the great 
day of the atonement. Three times a year were 
all the males of the nation, even from the most 
distant parts of the land, required to assemble at the 
sacred city, and present themselves before God, and 
engage in the solemn acts of worship prescribed by 
the Divine law. To this ceremonial, this costly, and 
splendid outward worship, the Jews were habituated, 



24 god's plan 

from age to age, in their successive generations. It 
was pleasing to their eye, and gratifying to their 
imaginations. It addressed all their senses. Strongly 
attached to it, nothing could reconcile them to any 
change in its external splendour. 

Yet, by the preaching of the gospel, and the intro 
duction of the Christian religion, an entire change was 
produced in the mode of conducting the worship of 
Almighty God. The sacrifices were abolished. Jeru- 
salem was no longer to be the consecrated seat of 
Divine service. The temple became unnecessary; its 
glory was departed. In any convenient place it was 
lawful to erect a house for worship : and every where, 
without looking towards the far famed city, the dis- 
ciples of Christ might lift up clean hands and pure 
hearts, in acceptable acts of devout adoration, thanks- 
giving and praise. The tribe of Levi was dismissed 
from their long enjoyed and honorable employment of 
ministering to God in holy things, for the benefit of 
the nation. That honour was transferred to the 
Apostles and their successors in the ministry of Jesus 
Christ. Under the Christian dispensation, the worship 
of God is conducted with great simplicity ; divested of 
all that outward show that attracted the veneration of 
a carnal people, who were fond of ceremonies that 
addressed their bodily senses. 

Knowing that this change was appointed, our Re- 
deemer spoke of it to the woman of Samaria. " Our 
fathers,'' said she, " worshipped in this mountain: and 
ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought 
to worship. Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe 
me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this 
mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 
Ye worship, ye know not what ; we know what we 



FOR A REVELATION. 25 

worship : for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour 
cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall 
worship the Father in spirit and in truth : for the 
Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit; 
and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit 
and in truth.^^* 

This great change was, we are informed, brought 
about by Jews, who had, from their infancy, been 
habituated to the splendid ritual of Moses, and the 
magnificent ceremonies of the temple service. So 
much were they under the influence of early instruc- 
tion, and long and deep rooted habit, that they required 
repeated revelations from heaven, to free them from 
bondage to the law of Moses, and to incline them to 
maintain the liberty which Jesus Christ had imparted 
to his church. Taught by the Spirit the meaning of 
ancient prophecies and types, they saw that this re- 
markable change in the mode of conducting Divine 
worship, had been foretold ; although their nation 
had not understood the intimations of their prophets, 
nor the typical nature of the Mosaic institutions. 

On this point the author of the epistle to the He- 
brews has thrown the clearest light. He has discuss- 
ed the subject at full length, and proved that the 
whole Levitical service was, by infinite wisdom, de- 
signed to be typical of the worship under the Christian 
dispensation ; and that the types, hS,ving received their 
fulfilment, are unnecessary, and therefore properly set 
aside. As a specimen, take the following quotation: 
" For the law having a shadow of good things to come, 
and not the very image of the things, can never witli 
those sacrifices which they offered year by year con- 
tinually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then 

*John iv. 20—24. 
3 



26 god's plan 

would they not have ceased to be offered ? because 
that the worshippers once purged should have had no 
more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there 
is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For 
it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats 
should take away sins. Wherefore, when he cometh 
into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou 
wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me ; in 
burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no 
pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of 
the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, God. 
Above, when he said. Sacrifice and offering, and burnt 
offerings and offering for sin thou wouldst not, neither 
hadst pleasure therein, which are offered by the law; 
then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, God. He 
taketh away the first, that he may establish the 
second.'^* 

SECTION VII. 

NO IMPOSTOR WOULD ATTEMPT SUCH A CHANGE. 

How remarkable this feature in the Divine plan ! 
Examine it. Does it not wear the impress of infinite 
Avisdom ? Surely an impostor would not have attempt- 
ed to call off a people from outward forms and cere- 
monies to a worship, simple, pure, and spiritual. He 
could not have conceived the idea of such a refined 
mode of addressing the Supreme Being ; a mode im- 
plying such correct and elevating conceptions of his 
adorable perfections, implying a deep conviction of the 
great depravity of human nature, and an encouraging 
view of forgiving mercy, through a glorious Mediator. 
Whence could he have derived such a conception ? 

* Hebrews x. 1 — 9. 



FOR A REVELATION. 27 

Nothing like Christian worship was found in the world. 
The worship of all nations was addressed to the senses. 
In such circumstances it was not possible for an im- 
postor to form a conception of worship so simple, pure, 
and holy, and offered in the name of a Mediator, so 
divine. The idea is manifestly of heavenly origin. 

If an impostor could have formed ideas so just, so 
adapted to the condition of fallen man, and so conso- 
nant to the claims of a holy, righteous, and merciful 
God, two obstacles would have kept him from pro- 
posing and recommending such worship to the world. 
In the first place, it would have appeared too pure 
and holy to be relished by his own corrupt heart ; and, 
in the second place, knowing how much men are un- 
der the dominion of their senses, and how attached 
they are to outward forms and ceremonies in religious 
worship, he would have entertained no hope of suc- 
ceeding in establishing a divine service so entirely 
different from all that prevailed in the world, and so 
uninviting to the carnal imaginations of men, even if 
he had felt disposed to make the attempt. 

SECTION VIII. 

THE CHANGE CONSONANT TO THE WISDOM OF GOD. 

Can we not see in this feature of the Divine plan, 
plain marks of infinite wisdom? Was not the mode 
of worship prescribed to Israel suited to that state of 
minority in which the church was before the birth of 
Christ? and is not the worship required by the gospel, 
adapted to the church in her advanced period, in 
which she is favoured with such superior light and 
privileges? The requisition for all the males to as- 
semble three times a year, was practicable, while the 



28 god's plan 

church was confined to one people; but since the 
church has extended her dweUings far beyond the 
hmits of the land of Judea, it would be impracticable 
to comply with the requirement. Was it not then 
consonant to the wisdom of God, when he designed 
to spread the influence of true religion in many and 
distant parts of the wt)rld5 to abolish a custom, origi- 
nally wise and beneficial, but soon to become unsuit- 
able, and to prescribe a worship more simple, more 
spiritual, and more suitable to his own spiritual na- 
ture ? How becoming the infinite majesty of God is 
it for him to require sinful man to approach the throne 
of his grace, in the name of a Mediator appointed by 
himself, and to renounce all dependence on their own 
works, and to rely for acceptance and audience simply 
on the merits of Him who died for sinners, and now 
lives to intercede for them ! 

CONCLUSION OF THE ARGUMENT. 

Having gone over the particulars of the Divme plan, 
as exhibited in the Scriptures for giving, proving, and 
preserving a revelation to men, let us recall them to 
mind, that we may have before us a condensed view 
of the whole plan. 

The Bible is composed of a number of smaller 
books; — these books were written at different periods 
and in different ways, and are characterized by great 
variety of style;— men of various endowments, both 
natural and acquired, living in different ages, some 
far remote from each other, trained to different em- 
ployments, and brought under the influence of differ- 
ent habits, were used by God as instruments in hi^ 
hands for conveying his revelation to the children of 
men; — the commission of these writers was attested 



FOR A REVELATION. 29 

by the most extraordinary proofs; proofs which He 
alone could furnish; by prophecies fulfilled, and mira- 
cles the most astonishing. The most wonderful pro- 
vision was made for preserving and transmitting Di- 
vine revelation from age to age; a whole nation selec- 
ted and separated from the rest of mankind, was con- 
stituted the depositary oi ih^ heavenly oracles; a peo- 
ple whose interests were watched over and defended 
by a singular, ever vigilant, and miraculous provi- 
dence ; and, finally, after the Mosaic economy had 
existed for ages, and the hearts of the people had be- 
come strongly attached to its outward forms of wor- 
ship and splendid ritual, it pleased God, soon after the 
Saviour's advent, to introduce a great and unexpected 
change in conducting Divine worship; so that from 
being splendid and magnificent in its ceremonies and 
outward appearance, it became simple, refined, spirit- 
ual, and pure. 

What human mind could have conceived such a 
plan? How far beyond the power of any man, or 
any association of men, the execution of such a plan! 
Does it not proclaim itself the conception of the infinite 
mind? Surely it does not accord with the ignorance 
and feebleness of depraved men, wishing to impose 
on the credulity of their fellow-men; but manifestly 
it does accord with the wisdom, purity, and benevo- 
lence of that infinite Being, who can enlighten and 
control the minds of his creatures; who lives through 
all time, present, past, and future; whose power sus- 
tains all nature, determines and changes its laws, 
when and how he pleases; and who knows how to 
regulate his own worship, so as best to correspond 
with the state and circumstances of his creatures, and 
with his own glorious perfections. 



30 god's plan for a revelation. 

When this wonderful plan is attentively and care- 
fully considered and examined, it appears impossible 
for any unbiassed, unprejudiced mind to resist the con- 
viction, that it is impressed with the characters of 
truth, and must have originated with that infinite 
Being from whom it professes to have proceeded. 
Like creation it bears visible signatures of the wisdom 
and power of its glorious and divine Author. 

Let it be observed, that the evidence offered in this 
chapter, is derived, not from assuming that miracles 
were wrought, nor from assuming that prophecies 
were fulfilled, but solely from a contemplation of the 
Divine plan spread out before us in the sacred Scrip- 
tures; a part of which is, that the truth of the Bible 
rests upon miracles and prophecies. The fact that 
miracles were really wrought, and prophecies really 
fulfilled, remains to be proved. The weight to be 
attributed to them, in the present stage of the discus- 
sion, is simply that they were adopted as parts of the 
Divine plan, and are therefore presumptive evidence 
of truth ; because no impostor would have dared to 
adopt as parts of his plan for establishing the authority 
of a forgery in the world, the working of innumerable 
miracles in the most public manner, and in different 
ages, and the uttering of a vast variety of prophecies 
to be fulfilled at various times, some near to each 
other, and some far remote in time. The plan exhi- 
bited in the Bible accords in all its parts with the infi- 
nite mind of Jehovah; but is utterly unsuited to the 
mind and weakness of a human being. This plan 
God was able to carry on in a glorious manner; but 
if man had been able to conceive it, he would certain- 
ly have failed in its accomplishment. 



MIRACLES. 31 



CHAPTER II. 

THE MIRACLES NARRATED AND WROUGHT BY MOSES. 

In the preceding chapter, the Divine plan for com- 
municating and preserving a revelation to this world 
was exhibited as found in the Scriptures. Miracles 
were seen to form a part. The commission of the in- 
spired writers was attested by these marvels wrought 
by God for the purpose. We glanced at their nature, 
number, and circumstances. Let us now go into an 
investigation of this important subject, and examine 
the evidence furnished in the Bible to prove that 
miracles were really wrought. 

The first miracle which Moses showed before Pha- 
raoh, was this ; Aaron cast down his rod in the pre- 
sence of the king and his servants, and it became a 
serpent. The magicians of Egypt attempted to vie in 
power with the Lord's prophet; but he triumphed 
over them ; for we are told that " Aaron's rod swal- 
lowed up their rods."* 

The next miracle was greater. Aaron " Kfted up 
his rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, 
in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his ser- 
vants ; and all the waters that were in the river were 
turned into blood." And the fish that was in the 
river died ; and the river stank, and the Egyptians 
could not drink of the river ; and there was blood 
throughout all the land of Egypt, and the magicians 
of Egypt did so with their enchantments."! But 
whatever they did, must have been done on a very 
small scale ; for when the river had been turned into 

* Exodus vii. 8—12. t lb. vii. 19—25. 



32 MIRACLES. 

blood, and there was blood throughout all the land of 
Egypt, how small a quantity of water could have been 
procured on which to operate with their enchant- 
ments ! and how far must the miracle of the Hebrew 
prophets have transcended in greatness, any thing 
which the magicians could achieve ! The judgment 
continued seven days. 

The production of frogs over all the land of Egypt 
in such vast numbers, that they went into the houses, 
and bed-chambers, and on the beds, was the third 
miracle. The magicians imitated in some sort this 
miracle ; but so annoying was this calamity that Pha- 
raoh was compelled to promise to let the people of 
Israel go, if Moses would intreat the Lord to take 
away the frogs. Accordingly the time being set, 
" Moses cried to the Lord because of the frogs which 
he had brought against Pharaoh. And the Lord did 
according to the word of Moses ; and the frogs died 
out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the 
fields ; and they gathered them together in heaps; and 
the land stank.^^* 

The next miracle consisted in turning the dust of 
the land throughout all Egypt into lice, upon man and 
upon beast. The magicians attempted to imitate this 
miracle with their enchantments, but they failed; 
and, compelled to acknowledge their weakness, they 
said to Pharaoh, " This is the finger of God.^^t And 
had we been present, witnessing the displays of power 
by Moses and Aaron, and compared the extent and 
greatness of the wonders wrought by them, with the 
trifling imitations attempted by their feeble and van- 
quished competitors ; should we not have acknow- 
ledged the power of the God of Israel, amd believed 
* Exodus viiL 1—14. tib. viii. 16—19. 



MIRACLES. 33 

that Moses and Aaron were only instruments in his 
hands for doing these marvels? 

In the succeeding miraculous judgments, a distinc- 
tion was made between the Egyptians and the Israel- 
ites : they were inflicted on the former, and not on 
the latter. 

When the swarms of flies were threatened, God 
said, " I will sever in that day the land of Goshen in 
which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall 
be there ; to the end that thou mayest know that I am 
the Lord in the midst of the earth ; and I will put a 
division between my people and thy people : to-mor- 
row shall this sign be ; and the Lord did so ; and 
there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of 
Pharaoh, and into his servants^ houses, and into all 
the land of Egypt ; and the land was corrupted by 
reason of the swarm of flies.* At the intercession of 
Moses this calamity was removed.! 

By the next judgment the cattle of the Egyptians 
were destroyed, but not one belonging to Israel died; 
and when the king sent to inquire he found it so.f 

Again, when Moses " sprinkled the ashes of the 
furnace up toward heaven,^^ it became a boil, break- 
ing forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, and 
the magicians could not stand before Moses because 
of the boils ; for the boil was upon the magicians, and 
upon all the Egyptians. § 

Then came the terrible storm of thunder, hail, and 
fire, which was more dreadful than any thing that 
had ever occurred in Egypt; but " in the land of Gos- 
hen, where the children of Israel were, was no hail.^^H 
Again at the intercession of Moses this judgment 

* Exodus viii. 20—24. t lb. ix. 3—7. || lb. ix. 22—26. 

t lb. viii. 25—31. § lb. ix. 8—11. 



34 MIRACLES. 

ceased.* Passing by the next calamity, that of the 
locusts which so terribly desolated the land, and was 
removed at the intercession of Moses,t let us consider 
the miracle by which darkness was brought over the 
land of Egypt. It was a thick, palpable darkness ; a 
darkness so great that the Egyptians could not see 
each other, nor attend to their common business. 
They were compelled to remain unoccupied in their 
places for three days, during which time the dark- 
, ness continued. But while this terrible darkness 
grievously afflicted the Egyptians, the Israelites en- 
joyed the light of heaven in all their dwellings. J 

All these successive judgments, severe and painful 
as they were, proved insufficient to humble the proud, 
obstinate heart of Egypt's king. Jehovah, the God 
of Israel, determined to inflict one more, which he 
knew would extort from him an unwilling consent 
to let the oppressed go free. But previously he insti- 
tuted the passover; which was designed to remind his 
people, in all future generations, of their protection, in 
that dreadful night in which the strength of Egypt 
was broken. 

While the Israelites were in obedience to Divine 
direction, eating the paschal-lamb, " at midnight, the 
Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, 
from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, 
unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dun- 
geon; and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh 
rose up at night, he, and all his servants, and all 
the Egyptians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt : 
for there was not a house where there was not one 
dead.^'§ But in this tremendous slaughter, the chil- 

* Exodus ix. 27—34. t lb. x. 21—23. 

t lb. X. 12—19. § lb. xii. 29, 30. 



MIRACLES. 35 

dren of Israel were safe. No first-born in their dwell- 
ings perished; because their dwellings were sprinkled 
with the blood of the paschal-lamb, according to 
Divine direction. " And the blood shall be to you for 
a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I 
see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague 
shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite 
the land of Egypt.'^* 

This terrible judgment proved effectual. The proud 
heart of the obstinate and hardened king was abased. 
Calling for Moses and Aaron by night, he said, "Rise 
up, and get ye forth from among my people, both ye 
and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as 
ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, 
as ye said, and be gone; and bless me also. And the 
Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they 
might send them out of the land in haste; for they 
said. We be all dead men.'^t 

Such were the miracles which Moses and Aaron 
wrought in effecting the deliverance of Israel from 
bondage. Pharaoh and the Egyptians, it is plain 
from the narrative, regarded them as miracles: and if 
.we had been present at the time to witness such won- 
derful events, could we have resisted the conviction, 
that they were the works of that Almighty power to 
which all the laws of nature submit, and by which 
they are sustained, controlled, and changed at plea- 
sure ? In this stage of the argument, let it be distinct- 
ly observed, I do not take for granted, that these mira- 
cles were really wrought. We only wish the nature 
of these singular occurrences to be observed, in con- 
nexion with the circumstances in which they appear- 
ed, just as they are stated in the narrative of Moses. 

* Exodus xii. 13. f lb. xii. 31—33. 



36 MIRACLES. 

The proof of their reality is yet to be exhibited. But 
what we request the reader to reflect on is this: 
Whether, on the supposition that these events really 
occurred as narrated by Moses, he can entertain a 
doubt that they were genuine miracles, produced by 
the Almighty to eff'ect the deliverance of his chosen 
people from cruel bondage to the Egyptians. 

New wonders succeeded those we have just no- 
ticed. On the march of Israel from Egypt, Jehovah 
became their guide: "And the Lord went before 
them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them in the 
way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them 
light; to go by day and night. He took not away the 
pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, 
from before the people.^^* In this miraculous manner 
were the tribes of Israel led, during all their wander- 
ings in the wilderness, through the space of forty 
years. 

Repenting that they had let Israel go, Pharaoh and 
his servants assembled in haste an army, and went 
in pursuit of them, to reduce them to that state of 
bondage from which they had been released. They 
found them encamped at the Red Sea. Terrified at 
sight of their former masters approaching in hostile 
array, " The children of Israel cried out unto the 
Lord.^' They murmured against Moses; who, in 
reply to their ungrateful and unbelieving complaints, 
said, " Fear ye not ; stand still, and see the salvation 
of the Lord, which he will show you to-day : for the 
Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see 
them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight 
for you, and ye shall hold your peace. '^t According- 
ly preparation is made for the fulfilment of this pro- 
* Exodus xiii. 21, 22. f lb. xiv, 10—14. 



MIRACLES. 37 

mise. The cloud assumes a new position. "The 
angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, 
removed and went behind them : and the pillar of 
cloud went from before their face, and stood behind 
them: and it came between the Egyptians and the 
camp of Israel ; and it was a cloud and darkness to 
them, but it gave light by night to these ; so that the 
one came not near the other all the night. And 
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea ; and the 
Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind 
all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the 
waters were divided. And the children of Israel 
went into the midst of the sea upon dry ground : and 
the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand 
and on their left.^'* 

In defiance of past judgments and of present ap- 
pearances of Divine interposition in favour of Israel, 
the infatuated king of Egypt dared to pursue them 
into the passage made for their escape through the 
sea. But how vain his mad design ! "The Lord 
troubled the hosts of the Egyptians, and took off 
their chariot wheels, so that they drave them hea- 
vily.'' At his command, " Moses stretched forth his 
hand, and the sea returned to his strength when the 
morning appeared.''! The hosts of Pharaoh see their 
folly. In vain they attempt to retreat from their im- 
pious pursuit. They are overwhelmed and drowned 
in the sea. 

The sacred writer ascribes the dividing of the 
waters of the Red Sea to the power of Almighty 
God, interposing for the deliverance of his chosen 
people, and for the destruction of their enemies. A 
strong east wind was indeed employed to drive the sea 

* Exodus xiv. 15—22. t lb. xiv. 23—25, 

4 



38 MIRACLES. 

back ; but no wind could pile up the waters like two 
walls on both sides of the Israelites. The waters 
were divided, when Moses, the Lord's servant, 
stretched out his hand ; and when he stretched it 
out again, the waters returned to their former state, 
and overwhelmed and destroyed the Egyptians. 

By these various interpositions of Jehovah, the 
Israelites were eiffectually delivered out of the hands 
of their cruel masters. They constituted a vast mul- 
titude; amounting in all to three millions of human 
beings. They are now in the wilderness : How are 
they to be sustained ? Whence will they obtain the 
necessary food ? The Lord will not forsake them ; 
he will provide. A new scene of wonders opens. 
Manna descends from heaven every morning except 
the Sabbath. On this heavenly food, the Israelites 
feed and are sustained forty years. It ceased not to 
descend till they had entered the land of promise, and _ 
could obtain its fruits for their support. 

Passing by other miracles, let us look at the miracle 
wrought at mount Sinai. Before this mount Israel 
encamped ; and while there Jehovah was pleased to 
exhibit his glory to them. They were instructed to 
prepare to meet God. On the third day "there were 
thunders and lightning, and a thick cloud upon the 
mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud ; 
so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. 
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp 
to meet God ; and they stood at the nether part of 
the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a 
smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire ; 
and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a 
furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And 
when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and 



MIRACLES. 39 

waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God 
answered him by a voice. And the Lord came 
down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: 
and Moses went up.'"^ 

In such circumstances of awful grandeur, and with 
such terrific displays of his divine majesty, Jehovah 
delivered, in an audible voice, the ten commandments; 
which he was pleased afterwards to engrave on two 
tables of stone, and give them to Moses for his people. 
Not a doubt could remain on the mind of a single 
IsraeUte that here a miracle was wrought, and that 
God was present. 

In all their journeys in the wilderness, the chosen 
tribes were guided by a standing miracle. We have 
noticed already the pillar of a cloud by day, and 
the pillar of fire by night. At the erection of the 
tabernacle these pillars assumed a new position. " On 
the day that the tabernacle was reared up, the cloud 
covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testi- 
mony; and at even there was upon the tabernacle as 
it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So 
it was alway : the cloud covered it by day^ and the 
appearance of fire by night, and when the cloud was 
taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the chil- 
dren of Israel journeyed; and in the place where the 
cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their 
tents. At the commandment of the Lord the children 
of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the 
Lord they pitched : as long as the cloud abode upon 
the tabernacle they rested in their tents. And when 
the cloud tarried long on the tabernacle many days, 
then the children of Israel kept the charge of the 
Lord, and journeyed not. And so it was, when the 

* Exodus xix. 16 — 20. ch. xx. 



40 MIRACLES. 

cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle ; according 
to the commandment of the Lord they abode in their 
tentSj and according to the commandment of the Lord 
they journeyed/^ So particular is Moses in his narra- 
tive of this miracle, and still more particular, as you 
will find by turning to the ninth chapter of Numbers. 



CHAPTER IIL 



ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 



Omitting notice of the other miracles narrated by 
the Hebrew leader, we proceed, to make remarks on 
those we have selected. 



SECTION I. 

REMARKS. 

1. If these events actually occurred, at the time, 
and in the circumstances, stated in the narrative, then 
they must have been miraculous; real interpositions 
of Divine power, out of the order of nature, by Jeho- 
vah, the God of Israel, to establish the mission of his 
servant Moses, and to fulfil his promises to his chosen 
people. It is utterely impossible to explain them by 
natural causes. No one witnessing such events, in 
connexion with the time and circumstances, could 
resist the conviction, that they were produced by a 
Divine power, operating out of the ordinary course of 
nature, and designed to be, what they are denomina- 
ted, miraculous events. They were of such a nature 



MIRACLES. 41 

that their character could not be mistaken. If they 
were not miracles, miracles can never be wrought. It 
only requires an examination of them to be convinced 
of the truth of this remark. 

2. These miracles were wrought before competent 
witnesses. 

They were exhibited in open day, not privately, 
but in the most public manner ; not in the presence of 
a few selected individuals, but in the presence of vast 
multitudes ; before enemies as well as friends. The 
Egyptians saw and felt them. The proud and obsti- 
nate king was compelled by them to acknowledge the 
hand of the Almighty, and to let his oppressed slaves 
go free. Israel saw and rejoiced in Jehovah^s signal 
interposition in their favour ; and when He had car- 
ried them safely through the Red Sea, and placed them 
beyond the power of their pursuing masters, they sang 
his praises. Two nations witnessed these wonderful 
events.* With the aid of his magicians, the king of 
Egypt tried hard to disprove the miracles. But both 
he and they were compelled to abandon the vain 
attempt. They saw and acknowledged the finger of 
God. Pharaoh was influenced by the strongest mo- 
tives to resist these miracles. He felt that the power 
and glory of his kingdom were concerned. He did 
resist long and obstinately. He was extremely un- 
willing to let the enslaved Israelites depart. Most 
reluctantly did he consent at last to let them go ; and, 
by so doing he gave the fullest proof that he believed 
the events that terrified him, and desolated his king- 
dom, were produced by the power of Israel's God, 
for the express purpose of humbling his proud heart, 

* Exodus XV, 

4* 



42 MIRACLES. 

and compelling him to release them from his tyranni- 
cal oppression. 

3. These miracles were wrought for an important 
end. 

Reason forbids us to expect miracles to be wrought 
on trifling occasions. If God interpose in a miracu- 
lous manner, it must be to accomplish something wor- 
thy of his interposition. And whj/- were the miracles 
under review wrought ? To this question a distinct 
answer is given by Moses. It was to fulfil the cove- 
nant engagements into which Jehovah had conde- 
scended to enter with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the 
illustrious fathers of Israel ; it was to deliver his cho- 
sen people from cruel bondage ; it was to establish 
true religion among that people ; it was to make them 
the depositary of his heavenly oracles ; it was to set 
up and maintain his worship in opposition to idol wor- 
ship, in the world; it was to make known his great 
name in all the earth. Such, according to Moses' state- 
ment, was the design of these great and long conti- 
nued miracles. And surely no one can deny that the 
accomplishment of such a design furnished ample rea- 
son for a miraculous display of Almighty power.* 

4. The record of these miracles was written by 
Moses, while the witnesses were still living, and while 
some of the miracles were still exhibited before their 
eyes. 

Had the record stated that they had occurred ages 
before ; had it been written long after the witnesses 
had slept in the grave ; it would have merited very 
little regard. It was far otherwise. The record was 
made at the time of these wonderful occurrences, and 
presented to that very people who had seen and heard 

* Exodus iii. 1—1 a 



MIRACLES, 43 

the signal and miraculous displays of divine power 
described. To them the sacred historian appealed in 
support of the truth of his narration. " And know ye 
this day : for I speak not with your children which 
have not known, and which have not seen the chas- 
tisement of the Lord your God, his greatness^ his 
mighty hand, and his outstretched arm, and the mira- 
cles, and the acts which he did in the midst of Egypt 
unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his 
land ; and what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto 
their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the 
water of the Red Sea to overflow them as they pursu- 
ed after you, and how the Lord hath destroyed them 
unto this day ; and what he did unto you in the wil- 
derness, until ye came into this place ; — and what he 
did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the 
son of Reuben : how the earth opened her mouth and 
swallowed them up, and their households and their 
tents, and all the substance that was in their posses- 
sion, in the midst of all Israel : but your eyes have 
seen all the great acts of the Lord which he did.^^^ 

5. If the Israelites, who were witnesses, believed 
these miracles, then it is reasonable that all to whom 
their testimony comes, should believe them to be true 
miracles. 

They were competent witnesses. The miracles 
were of such a nature as to require in these witnesses 
nothing more than the exercise of sound bodily senses, 
and of common understanding. In relation to such 
events, an uneducated man could give as good a tes- 
timony, as a learned man. He could testify in regard 
to the judgments that desolated Egypt ; he could tes- 
tify in regard to the passage through the Red Sea ) he 

* Deuteroiiomy xi. 2—7, 



44 MIRACLES. 

could testify to the terrific displays of Divine majesty 
at mount Sinai, to the food on which the people fed 
in the wilderness, and the appearance and movements 
of the cloud, by which their journeying and resting 
were regulated. A man of common sense and sound 
bodily senses, could not be deceived in respect to such 
events : and it was utterly impossible for a whole na- 
tion to be deceived by miracles that were seen with 
their eyes, and heard with their ears ; some of which 
were daily occurring for a long course of years. 

Now, if we have the testimony of a whole nation, 
of three millions of people, to events in regard to which 
they neither were nor could be deceived, is it not 
worthy of all credit ? Why should we hesitate to 
receive it ? Hume replies, " such testimony ought to 
be rejected ; because miracles are contrary to experi- 
ence,^^ Contrary to experience ! Whose experience ? 
The experience of Mr. Hume ? And is his experience 
the test of truth ? Can nothing be true which he has 
not experienced ? Shall his eyes and ears be consti- 
tuted the sole vouchers of truth ? If Mr. Hume does 
not mean his personal experience, whose experience 
does he mean ? The experience of men of the age in 
which he lived? How can the fact that they never 
saw miracles wrought, be brought forward as proof 
that men who lived in ages before they were born, 
never witnessed miracles? With equal propriety 
might it be affirmed, that the latter could not see and 
hear things which the former did not see nor hear ; 
and thus with one dash of the pen might be blotted 
out the entire history of past events ! 

But does the philosopher, by experience, mean 
universal experience? Does he intend to say, that no 
man ever saw a miracle? This would be a philoso- 



MIRACLES. 45 

phical argument indeed! It would be substituting 
the dictum^ the mere assertion of an infidel writer for 
proof! If we take it for granted that no man ever 
saw a miracle, why then all reasoning is useless. 

But Moses, who lived many ages before Hume 
was born, affirms that, by the power of the God of 
Israel, he was enabled to work many and great mira- 
cles, in attestation of his mission to effect the emanci- 
pation of that people from Egyptian bondage. In 
proof of his miracles, of which he gives a particular 
account, he adduces the testimony of a whole nation; 
whom he delivered from the tyranny of Pharaoh, led 
through the Red Sea, and conducted in their journeys 
in the wilderness forty years, till they reached the 
borders of the promised land. Now, to set aside the 
testimony of this whole people, and to confute Moses, 
by affirming miracles to be contrary to experience, 
and that no man ever saw a miracle, is ridiculous in 
the extreme. 

The great question to be decided is this: Did the 
Israelites really receive the writings of Moses as con- 
taining true history, and really believe the miracles 
which he records as having been exhibited before 
their eyes? If they did, then we have their testimony 
to the truth of these miracles; and it is perfectly 
reasonable in us to receive their testimony, and to 
believe that these miracles were really wrought by 
Moses. 

SECTION II. 

A FACT ASSUMED. 

Now, to settle this great question, we assume what 
no one can deny, that the writings of Moses have 
been, in ages past, and are, at this day, received, both 



46 MIRACLES. 

by Jews and Christians^ as true and inspired writings. 
How is this indisputable fact to be accounted for? 
Why have these writings of the Jewish lawgiver been 
thus honoured. > No true solution of this question can 
be given, unless we admit that the generation of 
Israelites who were contemporary with Moses, and 
were led by him to the borders of the promised land, 
really received him as divinely commissioned to effect 
their deliverance, on the ground of the miracles he 
wrought before their eyes. 

Either they did thus accredit him or they did not. 



SECTION III. 

REASONING ON THE SUPPOSITION THAT MOSEs's WRITINGS WERE RECEIVED 
BY HIS CONTEMPORARIES. 

If they did thus accredit him, then all that is stated 
in the Mosaic history, is natural. "Moses and 
Aaron,'' it is written, "went and gathered together 
all the elders of the children of Israel : and Aaron 
spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto 
Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 
And the people believed ; and when t?iey heard that 
the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that 
he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed 
their heads and worshipped. ''* How natural! The 
elders could not resist the evidence of the miracles; 
they believed that Moses was commissioned by God 
to effect their emancipation; they were willing to put 
themselves under his conduct, and to leave the house 
of their bondage. 

It was, however, the design of God to try their 

* Exodus iv. 29—31. 



MIRACLES. 47 

faith, and not to deliver them till their bondage be- 
came more intolerable, and their faith strengthened, 
by displays of new and greater wonders of his power. 
Pharaoh will not obey the command of the Most 
High. He sets himself in opposition to his will ; and 
proudly replies, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey 
his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, nei- 
ther Avill I let Israel go.*^^ He increased their oppres- 
sion, by requiring the same amount of bricks, while 
straw was refused for making them. The officers of 
the children of Israel set over them by their task-mas- 
ters, were beaten, because the people had failed to 
accomplish their impracticable task. They sought 
redress from the tyrant king, but were spurned from 
his presence, and ordered to repair to their work. In 
these circumstances, meeting, on their return, with 
Moses and Aaron, they exclaimed, in the anguish of 
their hearts, "The Lord look upon you, and judge; 
because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the 
eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put 
a sword in their hands to slay us.^'t Was not this 
natural ? 

But the desolating judgments inflicted on Egypt, 
and the protection afforded to the children of Israel, 
soon revived their spirits, and convinced them that 
Jehovah was stretching out his mighty hand for their 
deliverance. On the eve of their departure, Moses, by 
Divine direction, instituted the passover, as a comme- 
morative ordinance of what was shortly to happen ; 
and commanded the people to prepare for it, and to 
borrow of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels 
of gold. The people were obedient, and looked for 
the promised deliverance.^ 

* Exodus V. 2. t lb, V, 20, 21. t lb. xi, 2, 3. 



48 MIRACLES, 

For wise and holy reasons, as well as to punish the 
unbelief of his people, God was pleased, after he had 
saved them from the pursuing Egyptians, by opening 
for them a passage through the Red Sea, to keep them 
wandering in the wilderness, forty years. 

Now, if the miracles, narrated by Moses, were really 
wrought; if the Israelites were witnesses of the judg- 
ments that compelled Pharaoh to let them depart ; if 
they really went through the Red Sea on dry ground, 
while the waters were piled up like two walls on both 
sides; if they beheld the terrific displays of Divine 
majesty on mount Sinai ; if they felt the ground trem- 
bling under their feet, and quaked at the sound of the 
mighty trumpet, waxing louder and louder ; if they 
were fed with manna in the wilderness, and drank of 
the water from the smitten rock that followed them in 
their wanderings; if they were directed when to 
journey, and when to pitch their tents, by the move- 
ments of the miraculous cloud ; if their feet did not 
swell, nor their garments wax old ; then it is seen how 
such a multitude of people could be sustained, while 
destitute of the ordinary productions of the earth ; then 
the chosen tribes could not resist the evidence con- 
tinually before their eyes of a divine and miraculous 
interposition in their favour; then Moses could, as he 
did, boldly appeal to the miracles they had seen in 
Egypt and in the wilderness; and the people were pre- 
pared to believe his words, and to receive all the laws, 
and ceremonies, and institutions, and feasts which he 
announced as divinely appointed. 

In perfect correspondence with such a conviction 
resting on the minds of the Israelites, Moses addresses 
them, and boldly appeals to the miracles wrought, 
and which he was assured none could deny. " And 



MIRACLES. 49 

Moses called all Israel, and said unto them. Hear, 
Israel, the statutes and the judgments which I speak 
in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and 
keep them, and do them. The Lord our God made 
a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not 
this covenant with our fathers, but with us, who are 
all of us alive this day. The Lord talked with you 
face to face in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, 
(I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to 
show you the word of the Lord : for ye were afraid 
by reason of the fire ; and went not up into the mount,) 
saying — '\* Having repeated the ten commandments, 
Moses adds, " These words the Lord spake unto all 
your assemby in the mount, out of the midst of the 
fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a 
great voice : and he added no more. And he wrote 
them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto 
me. And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice 
out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did 
burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all 
the heads of your tribes, and your elders ; and ye said, 
Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his great- 
ness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of 
the fire : we have seen this day that God doth talk 
with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should 
we die ? for this fire will consume us : if we hear the 
voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall 
die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard 
the voice of the living God, speaking out of the midst 
of fire, as we have, and lived ? Go thou near, and 
hear all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; 
and we will hear it, and do it. And the Lord heard 
the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me ; 

* Deuteronomy v. 1 — 5. 
5 



50 MIRACLES. 

and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of 
the words of this people, which they have spoken 
unto thee : they have well said all that they have spo- 
ken/^* 

Moses exhorting the Israelites to obey the divine 
commandments, urges especially their duty to their 
children : " And thou shalt teach them diligently unto 
thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest 
in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, 
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, 
and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy 
house, and on thy gates.^^t — '' And when thy son ask- 
eth thee in time to come, saying, ^ What mean the tes- 
timonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which 
the Lord our God hath commanded you V then 
thou shalt say unto thy son. We were Pharaoh^s bond- 
men in Egypt ; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt 
with a mighty hand : and the Lord showed signs and 
wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, 
and upon all his household, before our eyes : and he 
brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, 
to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. 
And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, 
to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that 
he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.^^J 
Again, in the 29th chapter of Deuteronomy, where an 
account is given of the covenant made at.Moab, 
Moses appeals to the knowledge of the people : '' Ye 
have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in 
the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his ser- 
vants, and unto all his land; the great temptations 

* Deut. V. 22—28. tib. vL 1—9. t lb. vi. 20-24. 



MIRACLES. 51 

which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great 
miracles. Yet the Lord hath not given 3^011 a heart 
to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto 
this day. And I have led you forty years in the wil- 
derness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, 
and thy shoe hath not waxen old upon thy foot. Ye 
have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or 
strong drink : that ye might know that I am the Lord 
your God.'^* 

Now on the supposition we have made that these 
miracles of Moses were really wrought, all this is per- 
fectly natural. Moses could feel no hesitation in 
making his appeals to the knowledge of the people he 
addressed. He felt conscious he was speaking the 
truth ; and he knew that no one could call in question 
his statements. All is natural. These addresses of 
the Jewish lawgiver carry the appearance of truth. 
No impostor would dare to interweave his writings 
with such bold appeals to the knowledge of those 
whom he addressed. If he did, how could he hope 
to escape detection ? 

The generation of Israel who had witnessed all 
these miracles, and to whose personal knowledge 
Moses thus appeals, acknowledged of course his 
divine commission, and received his writings as in- 
spired and revealing the will of God. They would 
naturally be led to speak to their children of the won- 
ders they had seen. To be silent on the subject was 
not possible ; they could not suffer their children to 
grow up in utter ignorance of the wonders God had 
wrought, in effecting their deliverance from a cruel 
and degrading bondage, and in putting them in pos- 
session of the promised land. 

* Deuteronomy xxix, 1 — 6. 



52 MIRACLES. 

Yet there was room for exhortation and precept in 
regard to this matter. The Israelites could not be 
silent here; they would tell their children the wonders 
they had seen. But they might fail in diligence, and 
in taking pains to point out to their children the con- 
nexion between these miracles and the divine institu- 
tions. Hence Moses felt it necessary to press this 
duty in his exhortations. To aid parents in discharg- 
ing their duty, and to assist those whose office it was 
to teach the people, he wrote a succinct and accurate 
history of the Lord^s dealings with them; and to keep 
alive the remembrance of these things in all future 
generations, the recollection of them was interwoven 
with the ceremony of presenting annually the first 
fruits of the land. On that occasion the Israelites 
were required to say: "A Syrian ready to perish was 
my father; and he went down into Egypt, and so- 
journed with a few, and became there a nation, great, 
mighty, and populous : and the Egyptians evil entreat- 
ed us, and afiiicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage : 
and when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, 
the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our afiiic- 
tion, and our labour, and our oppression: and the 
Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty 
hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great 
terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: and 
he brought us into this place, and hath given us 
this land, even a land that floweth with milk and 
honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first 
fruits of the land, which thou, Lord, hast given 
me.^^* 

All appearances go to establish the supposition as 
true, that the Israelites sav/ and believed the miracles 

* Deuteronomy xxvi. 5 — 10. 



MIRACLES. 53 

recorded by Moses^ and which he reminds them again 
and again that tliey liad witnessed. 



SECTION IV. 

FORCE OF THE ISRAELITES* TESTIMONY. 

In the preceding section it was shown, that the 
generation of IsraeUtes who had witnessed Jehovah's 
miracles, would certainly tell them to the next gene- 
ration. The great and unusual force of their testi- 
mony is worthy of special notice ; for it was the testi- 
mony not of a few or many competent witnesses, but 
of a whole nation. 

All had seen at least some of the miracles. All had 
beheld the miraculous appearance of God on mount 
Sinai. All had heard his voice uttering the ten com- 
mandments. All had felt the ground trembling under 
their feet. All were terrified by the displays of Divine 
majesty. Not one of the whole nation could resist 
the evidence which the Almighty gave of his pre- 
sence. All saw and tasted the manna on which they 
subsisted. No one could doubt of being fed miracu- 
lously by this heavenly food, any more than we can 
doubt of being fed by the ordinary productions of the 
earth. The pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of 
fire by night, and its movements, were seen by all; 
and every individual of the nation had personal evi- 
dence that their journeyings and restings were regu- 
lated by this miraculous symbol of the Divine pre- 
sence. 

Such a testimony, thus delivered by a whole nation 
in regard to events about which there could be no 
deception, no mistake, was irresistible. The generation 

5* 



54 MIRACLES. 

of Israel to whom it was delivered could not reject it. 
It was a moral impossibility. They received it with 
full assurance. They certainly believed all the mira- 
cles related by their fathers; they acknowledged the 
divine mission of Moses ; they submitted to him as 
their lawgiver, appointed to that office by God him- 
self, and received all his writings as inspired. 

No event in the history of our nation is supported 
by equal evidence. That, on {he fourth day of July, 
in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred and seven- 
ty-six, the old congress signed, in their Hall at Phila- 
delphia, the declaration of American independence, 
no one doubts. And what is the evidence that satis- 
fies the minds of all of the glorious fact? All our 
fathers were not present to witness the signing of that 
noble and patriotic document. Only a small number 
could see the transaction. Yet on the testimony of 
this small number, and of the members of congress 
who did sign, we are assured of the fact. We no 
more doubt it, than we should, if we ourselves had 
been present, and had seen the illustrious deed with 
our own eyes. How then could that generation of 
Israel to whom the miracles of Moses were reported, 
admit a doubt in regard to things which all their 
fathers assured them they had seen with their own 
eyes, heard with their own ears, and tasted with their 
own mouths? 

To these conclusions we are necessarily brought, 
by admitting the miracles of Moses to have been real, 
and that he was duly accredited as their divinely 
appointed leader and lawgiver, by his contempora- 
ries. 



MIRACLES. 55 

SECTION V. 

REASONING ON THE OPPOSITE SUPPOSITION. 

Let US now take the opposite supposition. Let us 
suppose that Moses was not thus accredited, and that 
he wrought no miracles; and see what will follow. 
It will then follow that he did not emancipate Israel 
from Egyptian bondage, nor conduct them through 
the wilderness, to the borders of the promised land, 
nor sustain them forty years in the wilderness, as 
narrated in his writings. On this supposition it is im- 
possible to account for the fact of his being since 
accredited as their leader and lawgiver, and of his 
miracles being believed as real both by Jews and 
Christians. Indeed, if his writings were not received, 
by his contemporaries, as inspired, on the ground of 
his miracles establishing his character and commis- 
sion from heaven, they never could have gained 
credit in the world. Select any period of time, any 
generation of Israel, and it can be shown conclusively ^ 
that, on the supposition now made, they never could 
have been palmed on the world as genuine and in- 
spired. 

Let us take the generation next succeeding his 
time. It will then follow on the supposition made, 
that when his writings appeared, they were entirely 
ignorant of all the wonders recorded in them. They 
had heard nothing of the desolating judgments on 
Egypt; nothing of the passage of their fathers 
through the Red Sea ; nothing of their sojourning in 
the wilderness, forty years, and of their miraculous 
support by manna during that long time; nothing of 



56 MIRACLES. 

the wonderful manner in which the law was given 
from mount Sinai; nothing of the erection of the 
tabernacle by divine direction ; nothing of the wonder- 
ful cloud by which they had been guided in all their 
journeys through the wilderness. Yet when they read 
these writings they find it asserted that they had been 
delivered to their fathers ; that their fathers had been 
perfectly acquainted with all the miracles recorded in 
them; that they had really been emancipated from 
Egyptian bondage, by the judgments inflicted by 
heaven, through the instrumentality of Moses; con- 
ducted by him through the Red Sea, and through the 
wilderness, and sustained and guided in the miracu- 
lous manner narrated; and that their fathers had been 
commanded by God to tell these wonderful things to 
their children, and dihgently to teach them the testi- 
monies, and statutes, and judgments delivered to them 
by his servant Moses. Yet their fathers had never 
spoken to them of these wonderful things; they are 
utterly unacquainted with them! 

In such circumstances of utter ignorance, was it pos- 
sible for these writings, which imply their knowledge 
of them, to gain credit? Was it not requiring people 
to believe they had heard what they had not heard, — 
knew what they did not know, — and observed facts 
which they had not observed? or to believe their 
fathers had witnessed the most astonishing and mirac- 
ulous events, in which they and their children had the 
deepest interest; and yet, in opposition to every 
principle of human nature, and to the express com- 
mand of Almighty God, had observed a profound 
silence? to believe their fathers were in possession of 
these inspired writings, and yet had cruelly concealed 



MIRACLES. 57 

them from their children? Would an impostor have 
been so infatuated, as to attempt to impose on any 
people such writings? Would he have been fool 
enough so to frame his story, as to involve the sup- 
position that those whom he wished to deceive, ac- 
tually knew what both he and they were perfectly 
certain they did not know? A story so superlatively 
foolish could not obtain credit from the most credu- 
lous. The bold appeals of Moses to the personal 
knowledge of those whom he addressed, could be 
adopted only by one who felt conscious he was speak- 
ing the truth, and who knew certainly his hearers 
could not deny his statements. 



SECTION VI. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

Let us illustrate this argument by referring to events 
in the history of our own country. The union of the 
colonies in opposition to the arbitrary laws of the 
mother country, — the formation of a congress to re- 
present the colonies, — the declaration of independence 
by that congress, — the appointment of George Wash- 
ington as commander-in-chief of the armies of the 
United States of America, — the capture of Burgoyne 
and his army at Saratoga, — the arduous struggle that 
was carried on seven years against the armies and 
navy of Great Britain, — the capture of Lord Cornwal- 
lis and his army, at Yorktown, Virginia; — are all 
events in our history well known, and which being 
true could not fail to be known to the children of the 
revolutionary patriots and heroes. No one entertains 



58 MIRACLES. 

any doubt of facts so notorious and so substantiated. 
They will be handed down from generation to gene- 
ration, so long as this nation shall continue to exist. 

Now, let us suppose these events had never occur- 
red; that we had not been colonies of Great Britain; 
that no declaration of independence had been made 
by congress; that no war of liberty had been carried 
on seven years; that George Washington had not been 
appointed commander-in-chief of our armies; that 
neither the army of Burgoyne, nor the army of Corn- 
wallis, had been captured; and consequently that we 
had never heard of these remarkable events. Fur- 
ther, let us suppose that a person, undertaking to write 
a history of this nation, should incorporate these events 
as real parts of our history, would it be possible for 
him to gain credit? We open the volume; we read 
a very surprising narrative ; we read of events we 
never heard of before ; events of such a character that, 
if they were true, we should certainly be familiar with 
them; but of which we have lived in utter ignorance. 
Assuredly such a story, implying knowledge we do 
not possess, could never gain credit. The writer 
would meet with merited and universal reprobation 
for his barefaced impudence. 

Would such be the result of an attempt to impose 
on us as portions of our history facts that had never 
occurred, and of which we were entirely ignorant ? 
And when we consider the structure of the Mosaic 
history, the knowledge it implies in the historian's 
contemporaries, and in all succeeding generations, can 
we doubt the impossibility of its being imposed, at 
any period, on any generation, if it had been false? 



MIRACLES. 59 

SECTION VI. 

CONCLUSION OF THE ARGUMENT. 

Thus, from the indisputable fact that the writings of 
Moses have been, for ages, and still are, received, by 
Jews and Christians, as genuine, true, and inspired 
documents, we reason in favour of their truth and 
divine authority. Admitting them to be what they 
claim to be, all is natural ; the miracles he records were 
true miracles; they were seen by the Israelites whom 
he led out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through 
the wilderness ; and Moses could, with perfect confi- 
dence, appeal to their knowledge of all the signal and 
miraculous interpositions of God in their favour. But, 
on the supposition that his writings are not true, and 
his recorded miracles false, it is impossible to account 
for the undeniable fact, that his writings have been 
and are received as inspired and true, and his record- 
ed miracles as real miracles. On this supposition they 
could never have gained credit. 

Thus we are compelled to believe, that the Mosaic 
history was received as true by the writer's contempo- 
raries, on the ground of the miracles which he records, 
and which they had seen and witnessed, as the only 
way to account for the fact that this history and its 
recorded miracles are now, and have been for ages 
past, received as true, both by Jews and by Chris- 
tians. We have then the testimony of a whole nation 
to the wonderful and numerous miracles recorded by 
Moses, as wrought for the deliverance of Israel out of 
Egypt, and their final settlement in the land promised 
by God to their fathers. 



60 MIRACLES OF CHRIST 



CHAPTER IV. 

MIRACLES OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES. 

As Jehovah had ushered into the world the commence- 
ment of his revelation in a manner so wonderfulj and 
established the mission and character of the first 
writer of the Bible, by miracles so astonishing ; it was 
unnecessary to accompany the mission of subsequent 
prophets with the same overwhelming evidence. The 
working of one or two miracles, or the fulfilment of a 
prediction previously delivered, was sufficient to estab- 
lish the reputation of a prophet, in the view of a peo- 
ple for whom God had done such wonders, and whom 
Moses had taught to expect a succession of inspired 
teachers, and prophets ; and especially to look for the 
coming of that great Prophet to whom was to be the 
gathering of the people. 

When this great and long promised Prophet came, 
a new and brighter scene opened on the world. Mi- 
racles more numerous and of greater variety were 
exhibited to attest the mission of Messiah, the Son 
of the living God ; and afterwards the mission of the 
Apostles whom he sent forth to preach his gospel, 
and to establish his kingdom among all nations. 

Let us examine these miracles. 

The very first which our Lord wrought, was indis- 
putable. At a marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, when 
the wine had failed, he changed a large quantity of 
water into wine of so excellent a quality as to call 
forth the marked commendation of the ruler of the 
feast, who, at the time, was ignorant of the miracle 



AND HIS APOSTLES. 61 

by which it had been produced.* At a pool in Jeru- 
salem, called Bethesda, Jesus healed an impotent man 
of an infirmity under which he had laboured thirty- 
eight years, and the cure of which he in vain sought 
at this pool. To this unhappy man, Jesus said, 
" Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately 
the man was made whole, and took up his bed and 
walked/^t On one occasion, with only five loaves of 
bread and two small fishes, he fed five thousand men ; 
and there remained twelve baskets of fragments : and 
on another, with seven loaves and a few little fishes, 
he fed four thousand men, besides v/omen and child- 
ren; and there remained seven baskets full. J 

At Jerusalem Jesus opened the eyes of a man who 
had been born blind. This miracle was critically ex- 
amined by the Jews, and could not be denied by 
them.§ Moreover our Saviour healed all manner of 
diseases. He gave feet to the lame ; he unstopped 
the ears of the deaf; he loosed the tongue of the 
dumb ; he opened the eyes of the blind. He walked 
upon the sea; he rebuked the winds and the waves, 
and they obeyed him ; the tempest ceased, the waves 
were settled. He gave life to the dead. Taking 
by the hand the daughter of Jairus, ruler of a Jew- 
ish synagogue, he said, " Maid, arise. And her spirit 
came again, and she arose straightway : and he com- 
manded to give her meat. And her parents were 
astonished.^^ll He also raised from the dead a young 
man of the city of Nain. Of this miracle we have the 
following account: " Now when he came nigh to the 
gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried 
out, the only son of his mother ; and she was a widow : 

* John ii. 1—11. t John vi. 5—13. Matt. xv. 32—38. 
t lb. V. 2—9. § John ix. 1—38. || Luke viii. 54—56. 

6 



62 MIRACLES OF CHRIST 

and much people of the city followed with her. And 
when the Lord saw her he had compassion on her, 
and said to her, Weep not. And he came, and touch- 
ed the bier : and they that bare him stood still. And 
he said, Young man, I say unto thee, arise. And he 
that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he 
delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear 
on all : and they glorified God, saying. That a great 
Prophet is risen up among us; and that God hath 
visited his people. And this rumour of him went out 
throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region 
round about.'^* At the grave of Lazarus, who had 
been dead and buried four days, and in the presence 
of many Jews, Jesus stood and " called with a loud 
voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead 
came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes; 
and his face was bound with a napkin. Jesus saith 
unto them. Loose him, and let him go. Then many 
of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the 
things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some 
of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told 
them what things Jesus had done.^^t 

In Matthew we find this record : " And when they 
were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesa- 
ret. And when the men of that place had know- 
ledge of him, they sent out into all that country round 
about, and brought unto him all that were diseased ; 
and besought him that they might only touch the hem 
of his garment : and as many as touched were made 
perfectly whole. '^J 

In confirmation of their commission from Jesus 
Christ to preach his gospel, the Apostles were empow- 

* Luke vii. 11— 17. f John xi. 30»=46= 

t Matt. xiv. 34—36. See also Luke vi. 17—19. 



AND HIS APOSTLES. 63 

ered by him to work miracles. Miracles were their 
credentials to be read of all men. '' Then called he 
his twelve Apostles together, and he gave them power 
and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.^^* 
Subsequently our Lord appointed seventy other dis- 
ciples, to whom also he imparted the power of work- 
ing miracles in attestation of their commission from 
him. He " sent them two and two before his face 
into every city and place, whither he himself would 
come :'^ and when they returned they said with joy, 
" Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through 
thy name.'^t 

The power of working miracles was still further 
extended. Not a few disciples, gained by the preach- 
ing of the Apostles, received this gift. " Go ye into 
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved \ but 
he that believeth not shall be damned. And these 
signs shall follow them that believe : in my name shall 
they cast out devils ; they shall speak with new 
tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they 
drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them ; they 
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.'^t 

The miracles wrought by the apostle Peter were 
numerous and great. To a man lame from his birth, 
and lying at the gate of the temple, he said, "Silver 
and gold have I none; but such as I have, give I unto 
thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise 
up, and walk. And he took him by the right hand, 
and lifted him up ; and immediately his feet and ankle- 
bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, 
and walked, and entered with them into the temple, 

* Luke ix. 1. t lb. x. 1—17. X Mark xvi. 15—18. 



64 MIRACLES OF CHRIST 

walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the 
people saw him walking and praising God: and they 
knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beauti- 
ful gate of the temple : and they were filled with won- 
der and amazement at that which had happened unto 
him/^* The next day, the Jewish rulers and elders, 
the high priest, and his kindred, having arraigned 
Peter and John before them, demanded, " By what 
power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then 
Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them. Ye 
rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we this 
day be examined of the good deed done to the impo- 
tent man, be it known unto you all, and to all the 
people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of 
Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from 
the dead, even by him doth this man stand before you 
whole.'^t 

The miracles wrought by Peter were signal and 
numerous. Such an idea of his power was entertained 
by the people, " that they brought the sick into the 
streets, and laid them on beds, and couches, that at 
least the shadow of Peter passing by might over- 
shadow some of them. There came also a multitude 
out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing 
sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean 
spirits : and they were healed every one.^^f At Joppa 
a very benevolent woman who had done much for 
poor widows, died, and as Peter was at Lydda, a 
short distance from Joppa, the disciples sent for him. 
He went, and when he saw the dead body of this 
woman laid in an upper chamber, he ^^ kneeled down 
and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabi- 
tha, arise. And she opened her eyes : and when she 

* Acts iii. 1—10. t lb. iv. 1—10. X lb. v. 12—16. 



AND HIS APOSTLES. 65 

saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, 
and Ufted her up ; and when he had called the saints 
and widows, he presented her alive. And it was 
known throughout all Joppa ; and many believed in 
the Lord.^'* 

Of the Apostles generally it is said, "And by the 
hands of the x^postles were many signs and wonders 
wrought among the people. ^^t In regard to Stephen, 
a deacon, it is recorded, " Stephen, full of faith and 
power, did great wonders and miracles among the 
people.'^t " Philip, the evangelist, went down to the 
city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And 
the people with one accord gave heed unto those 
things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the 
miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying 
with loud voice, came out of many that were possess- 
ed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that 
were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in 
that city.''§ 

The apostle Paul was signally honoured by the 
power of working miracles. In the isle of Paphos, 
Elymas a sorcerer withstood Paul and Barnabas, 
seeking to turn away Sergius Paulus, a Roman deputy, 
from the faith. Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set 
his eyes on him, and said, " full of all subtlety and all 
mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all 
righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right 
ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the 
Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing 
the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on 
him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seek- 
ing some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, 

* Acts ix. 32—42. t Acts vi. 8. 

t lb. v= 12. § lb. viii, 5—8, 



66 MIRACLES OF CHRIST 

when he saw what was done, behoved, bemg astonish- 
ed at the doctrine of the Lord.^^* At Lystra "there 
was a man impotent in his feet, being a cripple from 
his mother's womb, who had never walked. The 
same heard Paul speak ; who steadfastly beholding 
him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, 
said with a loud voice, stand upright on thy feet. And 
he leaped and walked. And when the people saw 
what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, say- 
ing in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down 
to us in the likeness of men.t At Ephesus Paul laid 
his hands on certain disciples, and " the Holy Ghost 
came upon them ; and they spake with tongues and 
prophesied.^' In that city the Apostle continued about 
two years preaching the gospel ; and the sacred histo- 
rian informs us that " God wrought special miracles 
by the hands of Paul: so that from his body were 
brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the 
diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went 
out of them.'' J 

" Truly," says Paul to the Corinthians, " the signs 
of an apostle were wrought among you, in all patience, 
in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds ;"§ and to the 
Romans, "I will not dare to speak of those things 
Avhich God hath not wrought by me, to make the Gen- 
tiles obedient, by word and deed, through mighty 
signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; 
so that, from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyri- 
cum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." || 

* Acts xiii. 6—12. t Acts xix. 1—12. II Rom. xv. 18, 19. 

t lb. xiv. 6—11. § 2 Cor. xii. 12. 



AND HIS APOSTLES. 67 

SECTION II. 

THE GIFT OF TONGUES. 

In the preceding section we have given a brief ac- 
count of the miracles narrated in the New Testament. 
We have dwelt somewhat on them ; because it is im- 
portant to the argument to be founded on them, that 
the circumstances in which they were wrought should 
be observed. Before proceeding, however, it will be 
proper to notice that great miracle by which the apos- 
tles were qualified to enter on the discharge of their 
high and honorable office of preaching the gospel. 
No better account of it can be given than in the lan- 
guage of the sacred historian, " And when the day 
of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one 
accord in one place. And suddenly there came a 
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and 
it filled all the house where they were sitting. And 
there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of 
fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were 
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak 
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout 
men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when 
this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, 
and were confounded, because that every man heard 
them speak in his own language. And they were all 
amazed and marvelled, saying one to another. Behold, 
are not all these which speak Galileans? and how 
hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we 
were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and 
the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cap- 
padocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphy- 



68 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 

lia,in Egypt, and in the parts of Lybia about Cyrene, 
and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes, 
and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues 
the wonderful works of God. And they were all 
amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, 
What meaneth this?'^"^ 



CHAPTER V. 

ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 

SECTION I. 

REMARKS. 

On these miracles the following remarks are sub- 
mitted. 

1. If the wonderful things recited were done, then 
real miracles were wrought. 

To define a miracle is unnecessary. These things 
were so evidently beyond the operation of second 
causes, that any one witnessing them would readily 
attribute them to divine interposition, and acknow- 
ledge the instrument to be divinely commissioned. 
The language of Nicodemus was the language of 
truth and of common sense: " Rabbi, we know that 
thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do 
these miracles which thou doest, except God be with 
him.^^t 

2, These miracles were wrought in public, and be- 
fore many competent witnesses. 

They were exhibited, not in private, but in the 

* Acts ii. 1 —12. t John iii. % ^ 



ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 69 

most public places ; by the way side, in villages, in 
towns, in cities, at Ephesus, at Jerusalem, at Corinth ; 
not before a few select friends, but in the presence af 
enemies, as well as friends. Sometimes the spectators 
were few in number; at other times they were a mul- 
titude. Jesus Christ wrought his miracles in Judea 
and in Galilee. The Jewish capital beheld the dis- 
plays of his divine power. There too his Apostles 
first exhibited miracles as the credentials of their 
heavenly mission; and afterwards in different parts of 
the Roman empire, and of the world, in which they 
preached the gospel. The impressions made by the 
sight of them was great and remarkable. No one 
disputed their reality. 

3. The design of these miracles was most important 
and worthy of the special interposition of God. 

To attest the character and mission of his own Son^ 
and of the Apostles ; to confirm his revelation ; to set 
up the kingdom of Christ in the Avorld, and to save 
the souls of men — this was the great design. A 
greater and more important design cannot be contem- 
plated. 

4. The record of these miracles was published in 
the verjT- country in which they- were exhibited, and 
while multitudes who had witnessed them were living. 

Such is the scriptural representation. Matthew's 
gospel is supposed to have been written soon after the 
resurrection of our Redeemer. The other three, and 
the Acts of the Apostles, were pubhshed within thirty- 
five years from the same event. Many of the epistles 
were sent forth to the churches much sooner. We 
have seen what a bold appeal Paul makes to the 
Corinthians in regard to the miracles he had wrought 
among them; and how in his epistle to the Romans, 



70 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES, 

by affirming the miracles that had attended his minis- 
try, in various places, he invited investigation and 
refutation. The resurrection of our Lord from the 
dead, forms the basis of the gospel; and every where, 
and at all times, from the beginning to the end of their 
ministry, the Apostles announced this fundamental 
truth : for the gospel could not be preached without 
its annunciation. The resurrection of Christ constitu- 
ted the theme of Peter's address to the multitude at 
Jerusalem, when, on the day of Pentecost, he com- 
menced his public ministry. Standing up with the 
disciples, he proclaimed his Saviour's resurrection. 
^^Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Naza- 
reth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles, 
and wonders, and signs, which God did by him, in the 
midst of you, as ye yourselves also know; him being 
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknow- 
ledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands 
have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, 
having loosed the pains of death: because it was 
not possible that he should be holden of it. — Men 
and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the 
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and 
his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore 
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn 
with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, 
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit 
on his throne ; he seeing this before, spake of the 
resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in 
hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus 
hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and 
having received of the Father the promise of the Holy 
Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and 



ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 71 

hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens, 
but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, 
Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy 
footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know- 
assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom 
ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.'^* 

A bold appeal ! indicating the consciousness of 
truth. What impostor, addressing an audience, would 
dare to rest his cause on the personal knowledge of 
his hearers ; and appeal to them for the truth of his 
statement of facts, affirming that they well knew the 
miracles to which he referred had been witnessed by 
them ? Surely no one could, in the presence of his 
enemies, utter the language of Peter, but a man who 
felt assured he was speaking truth, which could not 
be contradicted. 

5. The fifth remark is this : If these miracles were 
really wrought and believed, the knowledge of them 
must have been extensively circulated throughout the 
world. 

That the rumour of our Lord's miracles must have 
been widely spread through all Judea and Galilee, is 
is too plain to be denied. Such wonderful works 
could not have been done without becoming the sub- 
ject of general conversation among their inhabitants. 
Luke tells us, that king Herod, who had heard of the 
miracles of Jesus, was glad when Pilate sent him to 
him, expecting he would work a miracle to gratify 
his curiosity. The day of Pentecost, when the Spirit 
was shed down on the Apostles, in so miraculous a 
manner, was a festival that attracted Jews from all 
parts of the world ; and on that occasion, " there were 
dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every 

* Acts ii. 22-36. 



72 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 

nation under heaven ;'' of which the sacred historian 
has given a long Ust. Now these strangers, congrega- 
ted in the capital of Judea, who witnessed the wonders 
of that day with such amazement, would not fail on 
their return home, to speak of what they had seen 
and heard with such astonishment, to their friends, 
and thus circulate the knowledge of the miracle very 
extensively. Besides, the Apostles, wherever they 
went, wrought miracles, to establish their character 
as commissioned by Jesus Christ to publish his gospel 
to all nations. 

SECTION 11. 

RECEPTION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS A PROOF OF THE REALITY 
OF MIRACLES. 

Two facts appear on the very face of the New Tes- 
tament: 1. That the gospel was preached immediate- 
ly after the resurrection of our Lord ; — 2. That the 
miracles of Jesus and of his Apostles were extensive- 
ly known in the world. From these facts the infer- 
ence may be conclusively drawn, that if the gospel had 
not then been preached, and if the writings of the 
New Testament had been forged and not published^ 
till after the apostolic period, they could not possibly 
have gained credit in the world. In that case they 
would have contradicted all facts ; affirming men to 
be in possession of knowledge which they themselves 
were sure they did not possess; — churches to be in 
existence which had no existence; — Christians to be 
found all over the world when none could be found ; — 
and an order of men set apart to the ministry when 
no such order was in being. Writings asserting such 
barefaced falsehoods would have met with universal 



ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 73 

reprobation. They could not possibly have gained 
credit. 

But the New Testament writings have gained cre- 
dit, and are at this day revered as the word of God, 
written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And 
from this undeniable fact we may, with confidence, 
infer, that they must have been written and received 
in the period in which they profess to have been writ- 
ten ; for in no other period could they have obtained 
credit. Penned and published for general instruction, 
it was impossible for them to lie concealed, if Chris- 
tianity had obtained the success in the world Avhich 
they affirm. Prized by Christians as containing an 
accurate record of the facts, doctrines, precepts, and 
institutions of their reHgion, copies of them would 
soon be multiplied, and circulated through all the 
churches, read and studied by all capable of reading, 
and especially by the ministry. Books implying all 
this, could not hope to obtain credit, while they rested 
their claim to truth, by appealing to the knowledge of 
readers which they did not possess, and by pretending 
to a great degree of notoriety, at the very time they 
were unknown. Success in these circumstances, we 
repeat it, was impossible. At no period except the 
apostolic period, the period in which the gospels and 
the epistles of the New Testament profess to have 
been written, could they have been received. And 
that they were then received as genuine, authentic, 
credible, and divine, follows conclusively from the 
fact that that they are now, and have been for ages, 
received as possessing such high claims to credit and 
veneration. 

But it may be inquired. On what grounds did primi- 
tive Christians receive the sacred Scriptures as the 

7 



74 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 

inspired standard of their faith and practice? One 
ground evidently Avas the miracles wrought by Christ 
and his Apostles. Our blessed Lord sustained his 
character, by appeaUng to the writings of Moses, and 
to his own miracles. To the Jews he said, " Had ye 
believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he 
wrote of me. But if ye beheve not his writings, how 
shall ye believe my words ?^^* On another occasion 
he appealed to his works, and said to them, " If I do 
not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if 
I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works : that 
ye may know and believe, that the Father is in me, 
and I in him.^^t Miracles were evidently the Apos- 
tles' credentials, to prove their commission from hea- 
ven, as God's ambassadors, to negotiate a treaty of 
reconciliation with rebellious men. They were signs 
of the apostleship. So we are taught by Paul, who, 
writing to the Corinthians, says, " Truly the signs of 
an apostle were wrought among you, with all patience, 
in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.'' 

By their miraculous powers the Apostles established 
their commission to instruct mankind, to bear to them 
the messages of divine grace, and to declare infallibly 
the will of God. On the ground of miracles, primitive 
Christians acknowledged the authority of the Apostles 
to teach them, and received their writings as infallibly 
true. 

It appears, then, that we have the testimony of 
primitive Christians to the reality of the miracles 
wrought by Jesus Christ and his Apostles. But it 
may be asked. Were they not deceived, and may not 
we be deceived by receiving their testimony? 

In reply to this inquiry, it may be observed, that in 

* John V. 46, 47. t lb. x. 37, 38. 



ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 75 

the nature of the miracles to which they testify, — 
in the character of primitive Christians, and in the 
vast importance of the question at issue — we find 
abundant reasons for the conclusion, that there could 
be no danger of their being deceived. The miracles 
were of that kind, as to require only common sense 
and a sound state of the bodily organs, to decide upon 
their true character. An iUiterate man was as com- 
petent a witness of our Saviour^s miracles, and of 
those of his Apostles, as a learned man. When our 
Redeemer opened the eyes of the blind, unstopped the 
ears of the deaf, gave feet to the lame, and speech to 
the dumb, and raised Lazarus from the dead; and 
when his Apostles performed similar wonders, by 
uttering a word in his name ; learning was not neces- 
sary to enable spectators to know whether these were 
real miracles. To see them was sufficient to convince 
the witnesses of the fact that these wonders were 
effected by a Divine power. 

It is true that " not many wise men after the flesh, 
not many mighty, not many noble are called ;'^ and 
it is equally true, that among the disciples of our Lord 
have, in every age, been found, not only men of sound 
judgment and discriminating mind, but also men of 
great learning and splendid genius. Convinced by the 
miracles of our Redeemer, ^'many of the chief rulers 
of the Jews, believed on him ; but because of the 
Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should 
be put out of the synagogue ; for they loved the praise 
of men more than the praise of God.'^^ ^^ A great com- 
pany of the priests, were obedient to the faith.'^t Paul 
was a man of learning and genius ; and, although for 
some time a bitter persecutor of Christians, from a 

* John xii. 42, 43. f Acts vi. 7. 



76 ARGUMENT ON THESE MIRACLES. 

belief that in shedding their blood, and putting forth 
all his powers to crush the infant church, he was doing 
God service, yet he became a convert to that cause, 
which had at first been the object of his deadly hate. 
Besides, consider that Christians were hated both 
by Jews and Gentiles, and that, by professing to be 
the followers of Christ, beUevers exposed themselves 
to great danger and sufferings. In such circumstances, 
it is evident that none would make a profession of 
faith in Christ, unless he was fully convinced of the 
truth of Christianity. Nor can it be doubted that the 
miracles of the Apostles were subject to a severe scru- 
tiny, and not believed to be real miracles, without the 
fullest conviction. Many Christians became martyrs 
to the faith : and their testimony to facts in regard to 
which they could not be deceived, sealed with their 
blood, is certainly of the best and surest kind, and 
worthy of all credit. 

In reviewing this extended argument it appears, — 
1. that the miracles of our Lord and of his Apostles, 
Avere of such a nature that their true character could 
not be mistaken ; — 2. that these miracles were really 
believed by primitive Christians to be true miracles ; — 
and 3. that the proof of this fact is their reception of 
the sacred Scriptures, which contain a detailed account 
of them. 

Thus we have reached the conclusion at which we 
aimed, the reality of the miracles of Jesus Christ 
and of his Apostles. 

Miracles being admitted, it will follow, that Christ 
was what he declared himself to be, the Son of God, 
the Saviour of the world, and the Lord of glory; 
and that the writings of his Apostles are what they 
claim to be, the word or God, written by men, 
inspired by the holy spirit. 



PROPHECIES, 77 



CHAPTER VI. 

PROPHECI ES, 

SECTION I. 

GENESIS iii. 14, 15, EXPLAINED. 

It was stated in a previous chapter, that the reUgioii 
of the Bible is founded on prophecies as well as on 
miracles, and that by this proof of its Divine origin it 
is distinguished from all other religions that have ever 
gained a footing in the world. " The testimony of 
Jesus/^ says John '^ is the spirit of prophecy.^^* By the 
fulfilment of clear and unequivocal prophecies record- 
ed in the Bible, he has established his claims to the 
character and offices which he assumed, as the Son of 
God, the Saviour of the world, the Sovereign of all 
worlds, and the Judge of quick and dead. 

We now enter on the discussion of this singular and 
convincing proof of the Divine authority and inspira- 
tion of the Bible. The plan we have adopted con- 
fines us to prophecies that have been fulfilled, and 
the evidence of which we find in the Bible itself. 
Were we to exhibit that class of prophecies, the evi- 
dence of whose fulfilment is to be found in profane 
history, the proof of the Divine authority and inspira- 
tion of the sacred Scriptures, would be greatly accu- 
mulated ; but it would require our discussion to be 
greatly extended. This task is unnecessary ; because 
it has been executed by abler hands. 

The first prophecy that falls within our plan, is 

* Revelations xix. 10. 



78 PROPHECIES. 

recorded in Genesis iii. 14, 15. "And the Lord God 
said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, 
thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast 
of the field ; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust 
shalt thou eat all the days of thy life : and I will put 
enmity between thee and the woman, and between 
thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and 
thou shalt bruise his heel.'^ 

It were absurd to interpret this passage as denoun- 
cing a punishment confined to the animal, called a 
serpent. It is indeed stated in this chapter, that " the 
serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field ;'^ 
and that he conversed with and tempted our mother 
Eve. But, let it be remembered that the serpent was 
not a rational creature, nor endowed with the faculty 
of speech, which distinguished man from all inferior 
creatures in this world. We are, therefore, compelled 
to look out for a superior being, who used the organs 
of the serpent in speaking, and in conducting the 
whole temptation. Aided by the light of holy Scrip- 
ture, we find no difficulty in detecting the true temp- 
ter; who, through his subtilty, deceived Eve, and, 
through her, eff'ected the fall of Adam, and his whole 
posterity. It was the Devil. Every where in Scrip- 
ture he is represented as the great tempter of men ; 
and in reference to the temptation of the first woman, 
our Saviour, speaking of him, says, " Ye are of your 
father the devil, and the lusts of your father will ye 
do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and 
abode not in the truth ; because there is no truth in 
him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his 
own : for he is a liar, and the father of it.'^* In the 
book of Revelation, John says, "And the great dragon 
was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and 

* John viii. 44. 



PROPHECIES. 79 

Satan, which deceiveth the whole world : he was cast 
out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with 
him.'^* Again, he says, " And he laid hold on the 
dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and 
Satan, and bound him a thousand years ; and cast 
him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set 
a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations 
no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled : 
and after that he must be loosed a little season.'^t 

By the seed of the serpent are meant, wicked, un- 
believing men, who are led captive by him at his 
pleasure. Addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees, 
John the Baptist exclaims, " generation of vipers, 
who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to 
come ?'^ J Speaking of the same class of men, our 
Lord says, " generation of vipers, how can ye, being 
evil, speak good things?'^ Again, "Ye serpents, ye 
generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damna- 
tion of hell ?''§ But lest it should be supposed 
that only such notorious sinners are to be regarded 
as the serpent^s seed, we adduce the sweeping state- 
ment of John : " He that committeth sin is of the 
devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning.'^ " In 
this the children of God are manifest, and the children 
of the devil : whosoever doeth not righteousness is 
not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.''|| 

By the seed of the woman is meant preeminently 
the Saviour, who was born in a miraculous manner. 
He had a virgin for his mother, but no human father. 
Hence Paul says, " God sent forth his Son, made of a 
woman,^^^ But all renewed and sanctified men may 

* Revelation xii. 9. § Matt. xii. 34 : xxiii. 33. 

t lb. XX. 2, 3. See 2 Cor. xi. 3, 14. || 1 John iii. 8. 10. 
X Matthew iii. 7. ^ Galatians iw 4. 



so PROPHECIES. 

be denominated the seed of the woman; for enmity 
does exist between the serpent's seed, and all true 
believers. Om^ Lord teaches this mournful fact, when 
he says, " If ye were of the world, the world would 
love his own: but because ye are not of the world, 
but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the 
world hateth you.'^* 

Bruising the serpent's head, in which lies his poi- 
son and power to hurt, signifies the overthrow of 
Satan, and depriving him of power to accomplish his 
ruinous designs. And was not all this eminently ful- 
filled by Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman ? "For 
this purpose,'' says John, " the Son of God was mani- 
fested, that he might destroy the devil."t Satan as- 
sailed him in the wilderness, but he was defeated in 
all his temptations. " Get thee hence, Satan," was 
his rebuke ; " and he departed from him."! " Foras- 
much then as the children are partakers of flesh and 
blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; 
that through death he might destroy him that had the 
power of death, that is, the devil ; and deliver them 
who through fear of death were all their life time sub- 
ject to bondage. "§ '^ Having spoiled principalities 
and powers, he made a show of them openly, tri- 
umphing over them in it."l| Thus the seed of the 
woman bruised the serpent's head ; and he will do it 
still more effectually, when, having brought to eternal 
glory all his redeemed people, he shall say to them on 
his left hand, at the close of the judgment, "Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for 
the devil and his angels."ir 

But, in accomplishing the work of redemption, and 

* John XV. 19. X Matthew iv. 10. || Colossians ii. 15. 

t 1 John iii. 8. § Hebrews ii. 14, 15. IF Matt. xxv. 41. 



PROPHECIES. 81 

in destroying the works of the devil, the Redeemer 
humbled himself; submitting to poverty, reproach 
and persecution, to scourging, condemnation, and 
crucifixion ; and to the various assaults of Satan 
and his legions, who assailed him, especially in his 
last hours, with all their malice and fury. Thus was 
his heel bruised by the serpent ; or in other words, he 
suffered in his human, his inferior nature, in conflict 
with fallen spirits. 

In this manner was this first and grand prediction 
fulfilled. 

SECTION II. 

GENESIS XV. 13, 14, EXPLAINED. 

The next prophecy to which we shall direct the 
reader's attention, is found in the fifteenth chapter of 
Genesis. "And he said unto Abram, Know of a 
surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a strange 
land, that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they 
shall afflict them four hundred years ; and also that 
nation whom they shall serve, will I judge ; and 
afterwards shall they come out with great substance." 
How remarkably was this fulfilled ! Did not God 
judge the Egyptians who had enslaved and cruelly 
treated them? Were they not delivered by severe 
and desolating judgments on the Egyptian people ? 
Were not Pharaoh and his host, who madly pursued 
them, all drowned in the Red Sea? Were they not 
enriched by the gifts which they received from the 
Egyptians, just before they left the land of servitude, 
and by the spoils which they gathered on the shore of 
the Red Sea, after the destruction of their enemies ? 

The seed of Abraham were strangers in a strange 



82 PROPHECIES. 

]and four hundred years. Isaac was sixty years old, 
when Jacob was born. Gen. xxv. 26. Jacob was one 
hundred and thirty years old, when he entered Egypt. 
Gen. xlvii. 9. These sums make one hundred and 
ninety years. Add to this two hundred and fifteen 
years, during which period the Israelites dwelt, ac- 
cording to the calculations of chronologists, in Egypt: 
and we have four hundred and five years, only five 
beyond the four hundred specified in the prophecy, 
which was delivered in round numbers to the exclu- 
sion of the five that exceeded. 

An objection, however, may be urged against the 
fulfilment of the prophecy, by alleging the text, 
where Moses says, " Now the sojourning of the chil- 
dren of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred 
and thirty years; even the self same day it came to 
pass, that the hosts of the Lord went out from the 
land of Egypt.'^ Exod. xii. 40. This seems to pre- 
sent a difficulty. But it is easily removed, by observ- 
ing that the two texts do not refer to the same thing. 
This refers to the sojourning of the children of Israel, 
which will be presently shown to have been four hun- 
dred and thirty years ; but the other speaks of the 
seed of Abraham being strangers in a strange land, 
which was four hundred years. 

It may, we are aware, be replied. Are not the chil- 
dren of Israel the seed of Abraham? Strictly taken, 
they are ; but we apprehend that, by the children of 
Israel in this passage, the Israelitish people are to be 
understood. " The Lord,^^ says Moses, " did not set 
his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were in 
number more than any people; for ye were the fewest 
of all people." Deut. vii. 7. When did the Lord set 
his love upon them, and choose them ? He chose 



PROPHECIES. 83 

them in Abraham, and set his love upon them, when 
he said to their illustrious father, " Get thee out of thy 
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father^s 
house, unto a land that I will show thee ; and I will 
make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and 
make thy name great ; and thou shalt be a blessing.^^* 
Taking this as the date of their sojourning, the time 
will be exactly, as Moses states it, four hundred and 
thirty years ; for this date preceded the birth of Isaac 
twenty-five years ; (Compare Gen. xii. 4, with Gen. 
xxi. 5 ;) which added to the sum four hundred and 
five, mentioned above, gives the precise amount. 

SECTION III. 

DIFFICULTIES REMOVED. — GENESIS xlix. 8 10. — JERICHO. 

This interpretation of the text, given in the preced- 
ing section, by which the fathers are included under 
the denomination, " The children of Israel,^^ is not a 
forced one. Were a historian to say. This nation have 
inhabited the land they possess two hundred and 
twenty-four years, we should be immediately carried 
in our calculation to the year 1620 ; when the pilgrim 
fathers planted their little colony on the rock of Ply- 
mouth. In the use of such language there would be 
no impropriety, although we have not existed as a 
nation more than sixty-eight years, when Congress 
declared these United States of America a free and 
independent people. Before that time we were de- 
pendent colonies, subject to the control of the mother 
country. If then such historical language would 
necessarily, without involving any abuse of language, 
embrace, not merely the American people, while ex- 

* Genesis xii. 1,2. 



84 PROPHECIES. 

isting as a nation, but their fathers who first settled 
in this country; may we not, with strict propriety, in- 
terpret the language of Moses, when he says, "now 
the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt 
in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years ;'^ as 
referring not merely to the individuals who were lite- 
rally such, but to their fathers, and their illustrious 
father Abraham ; who commenced this sojourning, by 
leaving, at the command of God, his native country, 
his kindred, and his father's house, and dwelling in a 
strange land ? No force is put upon the language of 
the Hebrew historian ; nor is he to be censured as 
using any unusual latitude of terms. 

Dr. Clarke, in his commentary on this text, removes 
the difficulty, by contending that the passage as it 
exists in the Samaritan Pentateuch, is the true origi- 
nal. He translates it thus : " Now the sojourning of 
the children of Israel, and of their fathers, which they 
sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of 
Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.'' If this 
be the true original, then even the appearance of dif- 
ficulty vanishes. We, however, are satisfied with the 
text as it stands in our Hebrew Bibles, and believe 
the interpretation we have given above to be fair and 
correct. 

As a more serious difficulty in the way of our argu- 
ment from the fulfilment of the prophecy, it may be 
alleged, that the record of the prophecy by Moses, 
was posterior to its fulfilment. This we do not deny; 
we admit that the event predicted had occurred before 
he reduced the prophecy to writing. The question 
then turns on the fidelity of Moses as a historian. He 
has stated it as a fact that the prophecy was delivered 
to Abraham. Did he state a truth or a falsehood ? He 



PROPHECIES. 85 

had the means of learning the truth. If this predic- 
tion was delivered to Abraham, he certainly did not 
fail to make it known to his son Isaac; and Isaac 
would not fail to transmit it to Jacob. Nor would 
Jacob fail to make it known to his children. A tra- 
dition so interesting could not but be handed down 
from generation to generation. " And Israel said unto 
Joseph, Behold, I die ; but God shall be with you, and 
bring you again unto the land of your fathers.^' Gen. 
xlviii. 21. Joseph certainly believed God^s promise 
and prediction on this subject ; for he, when dying, 
assured the children of Israel, that God would certain- 
ly bring them to the land of Canaan, and bound them 
with an oath to carry with them his bones. Gen. 1. 
24, 25. They fulfilled this oath. Exod. xiii. 19. 

Such are the particulars in relation to this prophecy 
which Moses has recorded. Were they forgeries? 
Was Moses an unfaithful historian ? Do his writings 
indicate any thing of the kind? Are not simplicity, 
candour, fairness, and impartiality stamped on his 
writings ? We have an evidence of his truth in the 
two passages compared. Had he been an impostor, 
he would have guarded against the apparent incon- 
sistency between the two. Instead of saying, " The 
sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in 
Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years,'^ he would 
have said, the sojourning of the seed of Abraham was 
four hundred years ; and thus have made out the ful- 
filment of the prediction. This he did not. Conscious 
of speaking the truth, he discovers no anxiety to avoid 
any apparent inconsistency; and, instead of showing 
the fulfilment of the prophecy, he speaks of the so- 
journing of the children of Israel from the date of 
Abraham's entering into the land of Canaan ; leaving 

8 



86 PROPHECIES. 

it to his readers to calculate, from particulars recorded 
by him, whether the prophecy was fulfilled or not. 

Besides, it must be remembered that Moses had, 
before he wrote his five books, fully established his 
divine mission by the great and wonderful miracles 
he wrought, and had been acknowledged by the He- 
brew people as their divinely appointed lawgiver, 
who received from God the laws which he delivered 
to them, and was inspired by his Spirit in writing his 
books, and so preserved from all error. See second 
and third chapters, 

SECTION IV. 

GENESIS Xvii. 5, 6, EXPLAINED. 

The third prophecy claiming our attention, is record- 
ed in the 17th chapter of Genesis. There the name 
of the patriarch was changed from Jihram to Jibra- 
ham^ in correspondence with the promise and predic- 
tion contained in these words, (verses 5^6,) " For a 
father of many nations have I made thee. And I 
will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make 
nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.'' 
When this record was written by Moses, Abraham 
had already become the father of two nations. But 
how have the natural descendants of this illustrious 
patriarch since multiplied ! And when we consider 
the true import of the prediction and of the promise, 
in what an amazing manner have they been fulfilled ! 
Turn to the exposition which Paul gives (Rom. iv. 11, 
12, 16, 17,) of the transaction recorded by Moses in 
Gen. xvii.; and you will find, that Abraham was 
constituted the father of all believers, whether found 
among his natural descendants, or among converted 



PROPHECIES. 87 

heathen. A natural and a spiritual seed were pro- 
mised to Abraham ; and the promise has been more 
eminently fulfilled in regard to the latter than to the 
former. He is the father of all true believers, not 
only among the Jews, but among the Gentiles. How 
has his spiritual seed been multiplied, m the many 
centuries that have rolled away from his day to the 
advent of Christ, and from that great event down to 
the present time ! And what multipUed millions will, 
in successive ages, be added to his spiritual family, 
from the present time down to the end of the world ! 
So wonderfully have the promise and the prediction 
been fulfilled. In subsequent ages they will receive 
a still more amazing fulfilment. 

SECTION V. 

GENESIS Xlix. 8 10, EXPLAINED. 

In the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis, the expiring 
patriarch Israel predicted the fortunes of his children. 
Were we to undertake the task, we might show how 
remarkably his predictions in regard to each of his 
twelve sons have been fulfilled. But this would ex- 
tend our discussion too far; and we are constrained to 
refer those who feel inclined to examine each predic- 
tion to commentators, who have shown how fully and 
particularly each has been accomplished.* We shall 
notice only that which relates to Judah. " Judah^ 
thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand 
shall be in the neck of thine enemies ; thy father's 
children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's 

* See " The Prophetic Blessings of Jacob and of Moses respecting 
the twelve tribes of Israel, explained and illustrated/' a little book 
published by the Presbyterian Board of Publication. 



88 PROPHECIES. 

whelp : from the prey, my son, thou art gone up : he 
stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as an old 
lion ; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not 
depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 
feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gather- 
ing of the people be.^^ Verses 8 — 10. 

Here is clearly foretold the preeminent dignity of 
the tribe of Judah; for it is of the tribes, and not of 
his sons, that the dying patriarch speaks : (see verse 
28 :) and every person acquainted with the Bible his- 
tory of the Hebrew people must know that, in various 
ways, this tribe was signally distinguished above the 
other tribes. In their encampment the first station 
was assigned to Judah. (Numbers ii. 2 — 9.) The 
prince of this tribe made his offering for the dedicating 
of the altar, on the Jirst day; (Numbers vii. 12 ;) Judah 
had the Jirsl lot in the land of Canaan; (Joshua xv;) 
and when, after the death of Joshua, the children of 
Israel inquired of the Lord, who should go up for 
them Jirst against the Canaanites to fight against 
them, He replied, " Judah shall go up : behold I have 
delivered the land into his hand.^' (Judges i. 1,2.) 
David, that eminent saint and distinguished warrior, 
who so successfully subdued all the enemies of Israel, 
and put that people in full possession of the promised 
land ; and Solomon his son, so famed for his wisdom 
and the splendor of his reign, were both of the tribe 
of Judah. Their descendants, for centuries, sat upon 
the throne of Judah, and long after the ten tribes of 
Israel had been carried away into captivity. Judah 
too were afterwards sent into captivity, for their sins; 
but the Lord was pleased to restore them to their own 
land, and permit them to enjoy again their appointed 
worship, and distinguished religious privileges. 



PROPHECIES. 89 

The other part of this prophecy was also eminently 
fulfilled; the sceptre did not depart from Judah, nor a 
lawgiver from between his feet, till Shiloh, the Senty 
the Messiah, came. The Jews had been conquered 
by the Romans, and were subject to their control; but 
they were governed by their own laws, and their own 
rulers, with some restrictions. The sceptre was de- 
parting ; but it had not wholly departed. 

The prediction of this same patriarch in regard to 
the two sons of Joseph, was, as scripture history clear- 
ly shows, manifestly fulfilled. Manasseh was the 
elder, and Ephraim the younger son. When, there- 
fore, Joseph saw his father place his right hand on 
the latter, he was displeased and wished his father to 
place it on the former, as the first-born; the patriarch 
'^refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it; he 
also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; 
but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, 
and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.''* 
The prediction was Uterally fulfilled : Ephraim be- 
came, in his posterity, and in their numbers, authori- 
ty, and influence, far greater than Manasseh. 

SECTION VI. 

JERICHO. 

After the destruction of Jericho, Joshua said, ^^ Cur- 
sed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and 
buildeth this city of Jericho : he shall lay the founda- 
tion in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he 
set up the gates of it."t The exact fulfilment of this 
prophecy is recorded in 1 Kings xvi. 34. "In his days'' 
(Ahab's) "did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he 
laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his first born, 

* Genesis xlviii. 17 — 20. f Joshua vi, 26. 

8* 



90 PKOPHECIES. 

and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, 
according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by 
Joshua, the son of Nun." 



CHAPTER VII. 

PROPHECIES. 

SECTION I. 

THE WRITER OF THE TWO BOOKS OF KINGS A CREDIBLE WITNESS. 

The two books, styled '' The first and the second book 
of Kings," contain a great number of prophecies, and 
an account of their fulfilment. But these books were 
written subsequently to their fulfilment. It will, 
therefore, be necessary, previously to an examination 
of these predictions, to ascertain what reliance is to be 
placed in the historical truth and accuracy of these 
books. 

It is admitted that the writer lived long after some 
of the facts which he records. These books embrace a 
period of four hundred and fifty years, or more. They 
are attributed by some to Isaiah, by others to Jere- 
miah, and by others to Ezra. The settlement of the 
question in regard to authorship is not material. The 
main question to be settled is, Was the author compe- 
tent to write a history of the transactions which he 
records, and is his history credible ? If he be a com- 
petent and credible witness of facts, we have a sure 
foundation on which to rest our argument from pro- 
phecy, in favour of the Divine authority and inspira- 
tion of the Bible. To evince this, let the following 
remarks be well considered and weighed. 



PROPHECIES. 91 

SECTION II. 

PROOFS OF HIS CREDIBILITY. 

1. Consider the character of these books. They 
are historical; written with great plainness, simpHci- 
ty, and apparent candor and regard to truth. Marks 
of these appear every where on their pages. 

They contain a history, not merely of the political 
affairs of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel, but 
especially of the divine interposition in these affairs ; 
rewarding his people when obedient, and punishing 
them when disobedient ; and at length, after a long 
forbearance with them, sending both kingdoms into 
captivity. No one can read these books without see- 
ing and acknowledging this fact. 

2. Consider that these books have been received, 
both by Jews and Christians^ as part of the canon 
of their inspired writings. 

We may then be sure they have been subject to a 
severer scrutiny, than was ever applied to any unin- 
spired history; because the highest interests of men 
were concerned in deciding correctly the question of 
their authenticity and inspiration. The commenta- 
ries of Cassar, and the History of Tacitus, were never 
subject to such an ordeal. Yet who doubts their au- 
thenticity ? 

3. Consider the documents to which the writer of 
these books appeals. 

He appeals in confirmation of his history first, to the 
^^book of the acts of Solomon;'^ (1 Kings xi. 41;) 
secondly to ^^the book of the Chronicles of the Kings 
of Judah ;'^ and, thirdly, to " the book of the Chronicles 
of the kings of Israel.^^ To the hook of the Chronicles 



92 PROPHECIES. 

of the kings of Judah, the writer refers thirteen times, 
once at the end of each reign; and in Uke manner to 
the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel, he 
refers nineteen times. His references are, in all the 
places, expressed in nearly the same words; either in 
the form of a qnestion, "Are they not written in the 
book of the Chronicles — V^ or in an affirmative sen- 
tence, " They are written in the book of the Chroni- 
cles of — P 

From the manner in which the writer makes his 
appeals, it is manifest that these books were then in 
existence, and that they were received as containing 
authentic history of the two kingdoms of Judah and 
Israel. Had not these books been in existence in the 
writer's time, or had they not been regarded as au- 
thentic history, an appeal to them could have afford- 
ed no confirmation to his own history, but would 
have ruined its credit. No man in our day writing 
history, could be so absurd as to hope to establish his 
veracity as a writer, by appeahng to writings that 
have no existence, or that possess no historical repu- 
tation. Equally absurd would it have been in the 
author of these books to entertain such a hope, and 
equally ruinous to his character would his references 
have been. And the fact that he did obtain credit to 
his writings, is conclusive proof, that these books to 
which he appeals were extant in his day, and accredi- 
ted as containing true history. 

4. Consider the great number of prophecies^ the 
fulfilment of which is recorded in these books. 

They contain more than twenty-seven predictions, 
covering a period of four hundred and fifty-years. 
They are found almost in every chapter. With the 
exception of a very few, they relate to kings : and 



PROPHECIES. 93 

were delivered in such circumstances that they could 
not fail to be known, and to interest the public mind* 
We have no reason to doubt their record in the his- 
torical books to which the writer appeals. If they 
had not been thus recorded, his reference to these 
books would have been of no avail to support the 
credit of his own narrative ; and if they were not 
generally known to have been delivered and fulfilled, 
the insertion of them in his history could not possibly 
have gained them credit. The reply to such a writer 
would have been this: "You tell us of prophecies and 
of their fulfilment, relating to events of a nature so 
interesting to the two nations, that if true they must 
have been recorded and known long before your 
time ; and yet we neither know them, nor can we find 
any record of them. Shall we, on your simple asser- 
tion, believe events to have occurred, affecting most 
deeply the affairs both of Judah and of Israel, of 
which we have no remembrance and can find no re- 
cord? Our fathers have not told them to their chil- 
dren ; no one has reduced them to writing. Whence 
have you derived your knowledge of these marvellous 
events, which must have produced such great changes 
in our national affairs ?^^ These predictions and their 
fulfilment must have been generally known, before 
this history was written, or it would never have gain- 
ed credit. 

SECTION III. 

ILLUSTRATION. 

Since the first settlement of our own country, no 
prophet ever appeared to foretell what great events 
would occur in our national affairs. Had prophets, 



94 PROPHECIES. 

commissioned by heaven, appeared to our fathers, and 
actually predicted, time after time, the most impor- 
tant events that have come to pass, their predictions 
would have been recorded, and the exact fulfilment of 
them would have excited attention, and established 
their reputation. 

Now let us suppose an author should undertake 
to write a history of the United States, from the time 
that Europeans first came to settle in this country; 
that he should interweave a spirit of prophecy with 
every interesting occurrence in their affairs; that he 
should, at every important period, introduce a pro- 
phet, presenting himself to the chief men, and in a 
public manner foretelling the events, with their cir- 
cumstances, just as they have occurred; and that he 
should show that the different prophets were accredi- 
ted by the chief men, as prophets sent from heaven, 
and that they were at different times applied to for a 
discovery of coming events; would such a writer gain 
credit ? Would not an appeal on his part to existing 
and authentic histories, in confirmation of his history, 
be utterly in vain ? Would not his writings, so far as 
relates to predictions, be rejected as altogether ficti- 
tious and false? 

It is only on the principle, that the predictions record- 
ed in these two books, were true, and literally fulfilled, 
and that a spirit of prophecy was known and believed 
to exist, in Judah and Israel, that the reception of 
these books, by the Jews as part of the canon of their 
sacred Scriptures, can be accounted for. Admit the 
existence of a spirit of prophecy, and the truth of the 
predictions, and then we see abundant reason, why 
these books were accredited as true and divinely in- 
spired; but deny the truth of the predictions and 



PROPHECIES. 95 

the existence of a spirit of prophecy, and then their 
reception by the Jews cannot be accounted for. It 
would have been impossible for them to gain credit. 



SECTION IV. 

PROPHECIES IN THESE BOOKS. 

Let US now look at the prophecies recorded in these 
books. 

1. The first relates to Solomon. It is recorded in 
these words: "Wherefore the Lord said unto Solo- 
mon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou 
hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I 
have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom 
from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwith- 
standing in thy days I will not do it, for David thy 
father's sake : but I will rend it out of the hand of 
thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all thy king- 
dom ; but will give one tribe to thy son, for David 
my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, which I 
have chosen.'^* This prediction was repeated by the 
prophet Ahijah, who assured Jeroboam that God 
would take from Solomon's son ten tribes and set him 
over them as king, and that Solomon's son should re- 
tain one tribe. t 

This prophecy certainly became publicly known; 
for Solomon sought, on account of it, to kill Jeroboam, 
and Jeroboam fled into Egypt. Of the fulfilment we 
have an accurate recital in the following chapter. 
The event occurred just as it had been foretold. In 
that chapter we are informed, that, after Rehoboam, 
the son of Solomon, had assembled an army of one 

* 1 Kings xi. 11—13. t lb. xi, 29-37. 



96 PROPHECIES. 

hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, out of 
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with a view of bring- 
ing back the ten tribes who had revolted from his gov- 
ernment, God interposed by his prophet Shemaiah; 
who, by Divine direction, forbade Rehoboam and the 
two tribes to fight with their brethren the children of 
Israel. They obeyed the heavenly mandate. See 
verses 21 — 24. 

2. The next is that remarkable prediction recorded 
in the thirteenth chapter, against the altar which Je- 
roboam had built in an unlawful manner at Bethel. 

The king was standing by the altar to burn incense, 
when a man of God "cried against the altar in the 
word of God, and said, altar, altar, thus saith the 
Lord ; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of 
David, Josiah by name ; and upon thee shall he offer 
the priests of the high places that burn incense upon 
thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. And 
he gave a sign the same day, saying. This is the sign 
which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall 
be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured 
out.'' Verses 2, 3. 

The circumstances attending the enunciation of this 
prediction, certainly rendered it public and memorable. 
The king was standing by the altar to burn incense; — 
offended at the boldness of the prophet in uttering the 
prophetic denunciation in his presence and hearing, 
he put forth his hand to seize him; — his impious 
hand was immediately " dried up, so that he could 
not pull it again to him;" — the sign of the truth of 
the prediction came to pass, "the altar was also rent, 
and the ashes poured out from the altar;" — the king 
begged the prophet to entreat the Lord that his hand 
might be restored to soundness ;— " the man of God 



PROPHECIES. 97 

besought the Lord, and the king's hand was res- 
tored him again, and became as it was before;'' — 
the king invited the prophet to go home with him to 
refresh himself, and promised to give him a reward; — 
but the man of God refused to go ; because he had 
been forbidden by the Lord to eat bread or drink 
water in that place. Verses 4 — 10. Having left it, 
and going, according to commandment, a different 
way from that he had travelled in coming to Bethel, 
he was overtaken on his journey by an old and false 
prophet, who deceived him, by pretending he was 
divinely directed to bring him back. He returned to 
to the place, and partook of the refreshment provided ; 
but on his way homeward he was, for his disobe- 
dience, met by a lion and slain. Verses 11 — 25. 

A prediction thus delivered and accompanied with 
such circumstances, could not fail to become notorious, 
and matter of record. 

In 2 Kings xxiii. 15 — 20, we have recorded the 
exact and literal fulfilment of this singular prediction, 
by Josiah, king of Judah. He broke down this altar, 
which Jeroboam had made at Bethel, and ^' stamped 
it to powder;" and "he took the bones out of the 
sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and pol- 
luted it, according to the word of the Lord which the 
man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words." 
After the lapse of three hundred and fifty years from 
the date of the prophecy, the man of the house of 
David, who had been predicted by name, appears, 
and Uterally accomplishes it ; and thus establishes the 
fact that it was uttered by the prophet under divine 
inspiration. 

3. The fourteenth chapter of this book records the 
prediction of Ahijah the prophet, whom the wife of 

9 



98 PROPHECIES. 

king Jeroboam came to consult about his son, who 
was sick. The prophet said to her, "When thy feet 
enter into the city, the child shall die.'' Verse 12. In 
the 16th verse it is recorded, "And Jeroboam's wife 
arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah ; and when 
she came to the threshold of the door, the child 
died.'' 

The same chapter contains a prediction of the utter 
destruction of the house of Jeroboam, delivered by 
the same prophet to his wife; (verses 6 — 11. 14;) and 
in the next chapter, speaking of Baasha, who con- 
spired against Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, and smote 
him, the sacred historian says, "And it came to pass, 
when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jero- 
boam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, 
until he had destroyed him, according to the saying 
of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Ahijah, 
the Shilonite." Verses 27—29. 

4. The sixteenth chapter contains a prediction of 
the prophet Jehu, denouncing the utter destruction of 
the house of Baasha, king of Israel, like that by an- 
other prophet against the house of Jeroboam. Baasha 
died and his son Elah ascended his throne. He reign- 
ed only two years; for Zimri slew him, and destroyed 
the entire house of Baasha; leaving not one of his 
family to survive, and extending the work of extermi- 
nation even to his kinsfolk and friends. See verses 
9—13. 

5. In the seventeenth chapter we find two predic- 
tions of Elijah. The first foretold that for several 
years there should be no rain : which was fulfilled ; 
for the rain was withheld till the third year, when it 
pleased God to send rain, (chap, xviii. 1,) in answer 
to the prophet's prayers; (verses 41 — 46;) after the 



PROPHECIES. 99 

signal miracle which he wrought to convince the peo- 
ple of Israel that Jehovah was the true God. See 
verses 18 — 40. 

The second prophecy of Elijah was addressed to 
the poor widow of Zarephath, that "the barrel of 
meal should not waste/' nor " the cruise of oil fail, 
until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the 
earth.'' Verses 10 — 15. The prediction came to pass ; 
" The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruise 
of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which 
he spake by Elijah." Verse 16. The poor widow had 
in her house only a handful of meal and a little oil in 
a cruise. She was gathering sticks, that she might 
prepare for her and her son the last meal ; after par- 
taking of which she expected both would soon die of 
hunger. But the meal and the oil were so miraculous- 
ly multiplied, that she, her son, and the prophet did 
eat many days. Verse 15. The son of this poor wo- 
man afterwards fell sick and died; (verse 17;) but 
the prophet prayed, " and said, Lord, my God, I 
pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. 
And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the 
soul of the child came into him again, and he re- 
vived." Verses 21 — 24. 

6. In the twentieth chapter we find ^?;e predictions. 
The first engaged deliverance to the king of Israel 
from the army of the king of Syria, who was besieg- 
ing Samaria : " And behold, there came a prophet 
unto Ahab king of Israel, saying. Thus saith the Lord, 
Hast thou seen all this great multitude ? Behold, I 
will deUver it into thine hand this day ; and thou shalt 
know that I am the Lord." Verse 13. The prophecy 
was fulfilled by two hundred and thirty-two young 



100 PROPHECIES. 

men, and a small army of seven thousand men. Verses 
14—21. 

The second foretold the return of the Syrians the 
next year, and advised the king of Israel to prepare 
to fight them. Verse 22, They accordingly came. 
Verse 2Q. "The children of Israel pitched before 
them like two little flocks of kids ; but the Syrians fill- 
ed the country.^^ Verse 27. 

The third promised to Ahab victory over this great 
army of enemies. "And there came a man of God, 
and spake unto the king of Israel, and said. Thus 
saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The 
Lord is God of the hills, but he is not a God of the 
valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude 
into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the 
Lord.^^ Verse 28. Seven days after this prophecy the 
battle was fought ; the Syrians were completely dis- 
comfited and routed. The small army of Israel slew 
of the numerous army of "the Syrians a hundred 
thousand footmen in one day.^^ Verse 29. 

The fourth foretold the destruction of a man by a 
lion, because he disobeyed the voice of the Lord in 
refusing to smite the prophet who commanded him to 
smite him. See the prophecy and its fulfilment in 
verses 35, 36. 

The Jifth denounced ruin to Ahab and Israel for 
disobedience. The prophet addressed him in these 
solemn terms, " Thus saith the Lord, Because thou 
hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed 
to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his 
hfe, and thy people for his people.^^ Verse 42. The 
fulfilment is recorded in subsequent parts of this his- 
tory. 



PROPHECIES. 101 

SECTION II. 

ahab's fall at ramoth-gilead. 

7. In the twenty-first chapter is recorded another 
prediction against Ahab, and one against his wicked 
and impious wife. The king of Israel wished to obtain 
the vineyard of Naboth for a garden of herbs. He 
offered to give a better vineyard in exchange for it, or 
to buy it with money. Naboth refused to part with the 
inheritance of his fathers. Grieved at the disappoint- 
ment, the fooUsh king "laid him down upan his bed, 
and turned his face to the wall, and would eat no 
bread.^^ Verse 4. Jezebel, his wife, contrived, through 
religious mockery, and perjured witnessess, to put 
Naboth to death with the forms of law, as being guilty 
of blasphemy against God and the king. Informed 
by his wife of the death of Naboth he willingly fol- 
lowed her advice, and went and took possession of 
his vineyard. By divine direction, Elijah the Tish- 
bite went down to Naboth^s vineyard, and thus ad- 
dressed the king: "Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou 
killed, and also taken possession? Thus saith the 
Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of 
Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. '^ Verse 
19. See the fulfilment of this prophecy in chap. xxii. 
37, 38. So the king died, and was brought to Sama- 
ria ; and they buried the king in Samaria. And one 
washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria ; and the 
dogs licked up his blood ; and they washed his arm- 
our; according to the word of the Lord which he 
spake. 

The prophet Elijah added a divine denunciation 



102 PROPHECIES. 

against Ahab's house: "Behold, I will bring evil 
upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will 
cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, 
and him that is shut up and left in Israel. And I 
will make thy house hke the house of Jeroboam, the 
son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son 
of Abijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast 
provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.^^ Verses 
20 — 22, Ahab humbled himself, and the Lord was 
pleased to postpone the impending calamities till his 
son's days. Verses 27 — 29. The fulfilment of the 
prophecy is recorded in 2 Kings ix. 24, which narrates 
the slaughter of Jehoram his son, by Jehu; and in 
2 Kings X. 1 — 11, which informs us of the destruction 
of seventy sons of Ahab by the order of Jehu. It 
concludes thus: "So Jehu slew all that remained of 
the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, 
and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left none 
remaining.'' See also verses 25, 26. 

Moreover the prophet Elijah pronounced the doom 
of Ahab's wife, that wicked and idolatrous woman. 
"And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The 
dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel." Verse 23. 
How remarkably was this prediction fulfilled ! By 
order of Jehu she was thrown out of a window of the 
palace, " and some of her blood was sprinkled on the 
wall and on the horses : and he trode her under foot." 
Having gone in, and eaten and drunk, he commanded 
her body to be buried, because she was a king's 
daughter. Those who went to execute his orders, 
"found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, 
and the palms of her hands." This being reported to 
Jehu, "He said. This is the word of the Lord, which 
he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 



PROPHECIES. 103 

In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of 
Jezebel." 2 Kings ix. 33—36. 

8. The twenty-second chapter contains a prophe- 
cy of the fall of Ahab at Ramoth-gilead. The king 
of Israel had persuaded Jehoshaphat king of Judah to 
go with him to capture that city. He consented. 
The false prophets flattered the wishes of Ahab, say- 
ing with one voice, ^^Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and 
prosper ; for the Lord will deliver it into the king's 
hand/^ Verse 12. At the suggestion of Jehoshaphat, 
Micaiah a true prophet was called. At first he ironi- 
cally adopted the language of the false prophets. 
Ahab understood him, and adjured him to dehver a 
true message from God. Thus adjured, he uttered 
his solemn message, which he well knew would be 
unacceptable : " I saw all Israel scattered upon the 
hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord 
said, These have no master: let them return every 
man to his house in peace.'' Verse 17. The king was 
displeased ; but the faithful prophet went on with his 
divine message, to show that the false prophets were 
deceiving the king, and that he would fall by going 
against Ramoth-gilead. The king commanded him 
to be put in prison, saying, " Feed him with bread of 
aflliction, and with water of afiiiction, until I come in 
peace." Verse 27. Hearing the order, the prophet ex- 
claimed, " If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath 
not spoken by me." Appealing to the people, as 
witnesses, he said, " Hearken, people, every one of 
jT-ou." Verse 28. 

To save himself, the king disguised himself, when 
he went into the battle. The pious king of Judah did 
not; and it liked to have proved fatal to him; for 
mistaking him for Ahab, the captains of the king of 



104 PROPHECIES. 

Syria directed, according to his orders, all their forces 
against him ; but, perceiving their naistake, they turn- 
ed away froni him to seek the king of Israel At this 
juncture, a man among the Syrians drew a bow at a 
venture, and smote the king of Israel between the 
jointsof the harness. Verses 30 — 34. Being wounded 
he was taken out of the host, but "was stayed up in 
his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even ; 
and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of 
the chariot.^' Further to fulfil the prediction, "There 
went a proclamation throughout the host about the 
going down of the sun, saying. Every man to his city, 
and every man to his own country.^^ Verses 35, 36. 
How exact the correspondence between the events 
and the language of the inspired prophet! How fatal 
to go in opposition to the warning of Heaven ! 

9. The first chapter of the second book of Kings, 
records a prophecy of Elijah the Tishbite, and its ful- 
filment. Ahaziah king of Israel was sick, in conse- 
quence of a serious fall through a lattice in his upper 
chamber ; and he sent messengers to inquire of Baal- 
zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he should recover 
of his disease. Verse 2. Directed by the angel of 
God, the prophet went to meet the messengers, and 
delivered his message for the king, saying, " Thou 
shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art 
gone up, but shalt surely die.'^ Verse 4. The king 
sent two captains with fifty men each at two separate 
times, to apprehend Elijah ; but each company was 
consumed by fire from heaven. The third captain 
with his fifty men, begging for his life, was spared ; 
and Elijah, in obedience to the command of the angel 
of the Lord, went down from the top of the hill on 
which he sat, appeared before the king, and repeated 



PROPHECIES. 105 

his doom ; saying, " Tiius saith the Lord, Forasmuch 
as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, 
the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in 
Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore thou shalt not 
come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, 
but shalt surely die.^^ Verse 16. The historian adds, 
'' So he died according to the word of the Lord which 
Elijah had spoken. ^^ Verse 17. 

10. The third chapter of this book contains a won- 
derful prediction of Elisha the prophet, that received a 
speedy accomplishment, involving a signal miracle; 
one of the most public kind, and one that could not be 
forgotten by the army that witnessed its fulfilment. 
The king of Israel, with Jehoshaphat king of Judah, 
and the king of Edom, invaded Moab, and for want of 
water was in danger of being destroyed by the Moab- 
ites. At the instance of the pious king of Judah, the 
three kings went to Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was 
with the army, to consult him. He responded favour- 
ably : " Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of 
ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see 
wind, neither shall ye see rain ; yet that valley shall 
be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and 
your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light 
thing in the sight of the Lord : he will deliver the 
Moabites also into your hands. And it came to pass 
in the morning, when the meat-offering was offered, 
that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, 
and the country was filled with water.'^ 

"And when the Moabites heard that the kings 
were come up to fight against them, they gathered all 
that were able to put on armour, and upwards ; and 
stood in the border. And they rose up early in the 
morning, and the sun shone upon the water ; and the 



106 PROPHECIES. 

Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as 
blood : and they said. This is blood : the kings are 
surely slain, and they have smitten one another : now 
therefore, Moab, to the spoil. And when they came 
to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote 
the Moabites, so that they fled before them : but they 
went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their coun- 
try.'^ Verses 16 — 24. 

11. In the fourth chapter we find the prediction of 
EUsha, that the woman of Shunem, by whom he had 
been so kindly and hospitably entertained, should 
conceive and bring forth a son. She accordingly, at 
the set time, received this blessing. Verses 16, 17. 
But when the child had grown, he fell sick and died ; 
and this extraordinary prophet, who had received a 
double portion of the spirit of his master Elijah, rais- 
ed him from the dead, and presented him alive to his 
joyful mother. Verses 18 — 37. 

12. The fifth chapter records this prophet's predic- 
tion, by which the covetousness of his servant, in re- 
ceiving a reward from Naaman, the Syrian general, 
whom his master had healed of a loathsome disease, 
and from whom he had refused to accept of any recom- 
pense, was punished. "And Elisha said unto him. 
Whence comest thou, Gehazi ? And he said, Thy ser- 
vant went no whither. And he said unto him, Went 
not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again 
from his chariot to meet thee ? Is it a time to receive 
money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and 
vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, 
and maid-servants? The leprosy therefore of Naa- 
man shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for 
ever. x\nd he went out of his presence a leper as 
white as snow.'' Verses 25 — 27. 



PROPHECIES. 107 

13. The sixth chapter furnishes striking evidence 
of the prophet's prescience. He saved the king of 
Israel from danger several times, by showing him in 
vs^hat places he would be exposed to the attacks of 
the Syrians, if he passed through them. So well 
known was the prophet's character, that one of the 
servants of the king of Syria said of him to his mas- 
ter, "EUsha the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the 
king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bed 
chamber.'' Verses 8 — 12. The chapter informs us too, 
how, at the prophet's prayer, the people, who came 
with horses and chariots from the Syrian king, to seize 
him, were smitten with blindness, and then led by the 
prophet into Samaria, and delivered into the hands of 
the king of Israel. Verses 13 — 23. 

14. The seventh chapter records a wonderful pre- 
diction of this great prophet. Samaria, being besieg- 
ed by the king of Syria, was reduced to so severe a 
famine, that " an ass's head was sold for four score 
pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's 
dung for five pieces of silver;" and human flesh was 
eaten. See chap. vi. 25 — 29. In these circumstances, 
the prophet " Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the 
Lord, To-morrow about this time shall a measure of 
fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of 
barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. Then a 
lord, on whose hand the king leaned, answered the 
man of God, and said. Behold, if the Lord would make 
windows in heaven, might this thing be ? And he 
said. Behold thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but 
shalt not eat thereof" Verses 1, 2. The next day 
this prophecy was literally fulfilled. Barley and fine 
flour sold at the specified prices ; and the unbeliev- 
ing nobleman saw the abundance of provisions, but 



108 PROPHECIES. 

did not eat of it ; " for the people trode upon him in 
the gate, and he died." See the fulfilment, and how- 
it came to pass. Verses 3 — 20. 

15. The eighth chapter contains four predictions of 
Elisha. — First, he foretells a famine of seven years' 
duration, and admonishes the woman, whose son he 
had raised to life, to sojourn wherever she could find 
support for herself and household. She did so ; and 
at the end of seven years returned, and applied to the 
king of Israel to be put into possession of her house 
and land. At the time of her application, Gehazi, the 
servant of Elisha, was telling the king, at his request, 
the great things his master had done ; and recognizing 
her, he said, " My lord, king, this is the woman, 
and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.'' 
The woman on being addressed by the king, confirm- 
ed the fact. Verses 1 — 6. 

Secondly, the prophet foretells the death of Benha- 
dad, king of Syria, although the prophet said he might 
recover of his disease. So it came to pass ; for Hazael 
suffocated him, by spreading over his face a thick 
cloth dipped in water. Verses 10 — 15. 

Thirdly, Elisha predicts that Hazael should become 
king of Syria. Verses 13 — 15. 

Fourthly, he foretells the great calamities he would 
bring upon the children of Israel. Verses 11 — 13. See 
the fulfilment in chap. xiii. 3. 22. 

16. In the ninth chapter Elisha predicted that Jehu 
would be king over Israel. Verses 1 — 3. See the ac- 
complishment throughout the chapter. 

17. In the tenth chapter it is foretold that Jehu's 
children to the fourth generation, should sit on the 
throne of Israel. "And the Lord said unto Jehu, 
Because thou hast done well in executing that which 



PROPHECIES. 109 

is right in mine eyes, and has done unto the house of 
Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy chil- 
dren of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of 
Israel/^ Verse 30. His four successors are named in 
the subsequent history; and, then, at the end of the 
reign of Zachariah the fourth in the line, whose throne 
was usurped by Shallum, who slew him, it is written, 
(chap, XV. 12,) " This was the word of the Lord which 
he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the 
throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so 
it came to pass.^^ 

18. The thirteenth chapter records the predictions, 
which EUsha uttered, when the king of Israel came 
to visit him on his sick and dying bed. He foretold 
he would smite the Syrians three times^ (v. 19 :) and 
verse 25 has the fulfilment. " Three times did Joash 
beat him, (Benhadad,) and recovered the cities of 
Israel.^' The twenty-first verse of this chapter re- 
cords a remarkable miracle; for a dead man was 
raised to life, as soon as he touched the bones of 
EUsha. 

19. The seventeenth chapter contains a summary 
of the great sins of Israel, committed against the re- 
peated warnings of successive prophets, calling them 
to repentance. Their persevering obstinacy provoked 
the Lord to remove Israel out of his sight, and send 
them into captivity, as he had so often threatened, by 
many prophets, to do: Moses, seven hundred and 
thirty years before, had recorded for their warning 
this alarming prophecy : "When thou shalt beget chil- 
dren, and children's children, and ye shall have re- 
mained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, 
and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, 
and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to 

10 



110 PROPHECIES. 

provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to 
witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly 
perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan 
to possess it ; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, 
but shall utterly be destroyed. And the Lord shall 
scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few 
among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you.'^* 
This prophecy, delivered seven hundred and thirty 
years before the event it predicted, was literally ful- 
filled. The ten tribes existed as a separate nation 
only two hundred and fifty years ; and were then, on 
account of their obstinate attachment to dumb idols, 
carried away by the Assyrian king into captivity, in 
which they remain to this day. 

20. In the nineteenth chapter, we find a remarka- 
ble prophecy of Isaiah. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, 
had, as we are informed in the preceding chapter, in- 
vaded Judea and captured many fenced cities. Heze- 
kiah in vain attempted, by a large present* of silver 
and gold, to induce the king of Assyria to depart. He 
sent three of his generals with a large host to Jerusa- 
lem, to deride the pious king of Judah, and to urge 
him to surrender himself and people at discretion ; 
telling him it was useless to trust in the Lord for de- 
liverance, as none of the gods of the nations had 
been able to deliver their worshippers out of the 
hands of the great Assyrian kings. Hezekiah hum- 
bled himself before God, and sent his servants to 
Isaiah the prophet, expressing his hope that God 
would graciously interpose, and urging him to pray 
earnestly for the remnant of his people. Verses 1 — 5. 
The prophet returned this encouraging answer:— 
^' Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the 

* Deuteronomy iv. 25—27, 



PROPHECIES. Ill 

Lord — Be not afraid of the words which thou hast 
heard, with which the ser\^ants of the king of Assyria 
have blasphemed me. Behold, I will send a blast 
upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall re- 
turn to his own land ; and I will cause hiai to fall 
by the sword in his own land.'^ Verses 6 — 7. Rab- 
shakeh returned to his master, and found him warring 
against Libnah. Verse 8. While there the haughty 
monarch heard that the king of Ethiopia had come to 
fight him. Verse 9. Thus the prophecy began to be 
fulfilled ; he " heard a rumour.'^ Intending to return 
with a view to meet his approaching enemy, he sent 
to Hezekiah an insulting and blasphemous letter. 
The pious king having received it, " went up to the 
house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord,^^ and 
poured out his soul in fervent prayer to God, acknow- 
ledging the triumph of the kings of Assyria over the 
idols of the nations, but intreating the Almighty to 
show his power in delivering his people ; " That 
all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou 
art the Lord God, even thou only.^' Verses 14 — 19. 
His prayer was heard. Isaiah delivered his message 
from the Lord. Zion might despise the haughty mon- 
arch and laugh him to scorn, being confident of Jeho- 
vah's protection. Sennacherib had vainly boasted of 
his powerful army and his past victories ; but he had 
forgotten that he was only an instrument in the hands 
of the Almighty, to accomplish his pleasure. Verses 
20 — 27. To teach him his dependence and feeble- 
ness, and to punish his blasphemy, God said, "I will 
put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, 
and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou 
camest.'^ Verse 28. " Therefore thus saith the Lord 
concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come 



112 PROPHECIES. 

into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come be- 
fore it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By tlie 
way that he came shall he return, and shall not come 
into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this 
city to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant 
David's sake.'' Verses 32 — 34. 

Such was the prediction. We have seen its inci- 
pient accomplishment. The king had heard a rumour 
of his empire being invaded. Now comes the de- 
structive blast, the entire fulfilment of the prophecy. 
It is thus recorded : " and it came to pass that night, 
that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the 
camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and 
five thousand : and when they rose early in the morn- 
ing, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Senna- 
cherib went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh, and 
it came to pass as he was worshipping in the house 
of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer 
his sons smote him with the sword ; and they escaped 
into the land of Armenia." Verses 35 — 37. 

21. The twentieth chapter records — 1. Isaiah's 
prediction of Hezekiah's recovery from a mortal dis- 
ease, and the addition of fifteen years to his life ; and 
the safety of his city against the designs of the Assy- 
rian king ;— 2. the miraculous sign that the prediction 
would be fulfilled, the retrocession of the shadow on 
the sun-dial of Ahaz ten degrees ; — and 3. his predic- 
tion that all the treasures in Hezekiah's possession 
should be carried away into Babylon, after his de- 
cease, and that his children should be made eunuchs 
in the palace of the king of Babylon. Of the fulfil- 
ment of these prophecies, the Bible has given a par- 
ticular account. 

22. The twenty-first chapter contains the predic- 



PROPHECIES. 113 

tion of the rum of Jerusalem, and the Babylonish 
captivity. It was delivered by various prophets. 
Verses 10 — 16. It uttered an awful warning. The 
calamity was threatened on account of the sins of the 
people, and especially the heinous sins of Manasseh, 
by which a holy God was so greatly provoked as to 
give his heritage to reproach. " Therefore thus saith 
the Lord God of Jacob ; Behold, I am bringing such 
evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever hear- 
eth thereof, both his ears shall tingle. And I will 
stretch over Jerusalem the hne of Samaria, and the 
plummet of the house of Ahab : and I will wipe Jeru- 
salem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning 
it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of 
mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hands of 
their enemies ; and they shall become a prey and a 
spoil to all their enemies.'' Josiah, the grandson of 
the wicked Manasseh, who succeeded his father 
Amon on the throne of Judah, became, we are in- 
formed in the next chapter, (xxii.) so alarmed by the 
reading of the law, which denounced such heavy judg- 
ments on account of the sins of Israel, that he rent his 
clothes, and sent confidential messengers to the pro- 
phetess Huldah, to inquire of the Lord concerning 
these impending judgments. They brought back an 
answer in some degree consolatory. God assured 
Josiah, that the terrible judgments would be executed, 
but that, in consideration of his penitent humiliation, 
in view of his threatened indignation, he should not 
be involved in them. " Behold, therefore, I will 
gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be 
gathered into thy grave in peace ; and thine eyes 
shall not see all the evil v/hich I will bring upon this 
place." Verse 20. 

10* 



114 PROPHECIES. 

But the hour of vengeance came. The appointed 
executioner of divine wrath received his commission 
to do what God had determined to be done, to punish 
a wicked, rebeUious, and ungrateful people. The 
great Nebuchadnezzar appeared as the scourge of the 
Almighty. In the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth 
chapters, the sacred historian tells how he besieged 
and became master of Jerusalem; how he rifled "the 
treasures of the Lord's house, and of the king's 
house ;'' how " he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold 
which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple 
of the Lord ;'' how he carried away into captivity 
" all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, 
and all the craftsmen and smiths ;'' and finally, how 
" he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's 
house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every 
great man's house." 



SECTION v. 

REVIEW. 

A review of the prophecies contained in the two 
books of Kings, establishes two facts. 

1. That a spirit of froipubgy pervaded the whole 
period comprised in the history contained in these 
books. 

Eight prophets and one prophetess are named, be- 
sides several others not named, but styled each a man 
of God. These books record more than thirty pre- 
dictions delivered by these prophets, and narrate their 
accomplishment ; all, with scarce an exception, being 
of a public nature, and interesting more or less to the 
whole community. 



PROPHECIES. 115 

2. That the existence of a prophetic spirit was 
PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED by the Israelites. 

None doubted its reality. Kings regarded the 
prophets as foreseeing future events, and inspired to 
reveal them. Jeroboam the first king of Israel, 
directed his wife to disguise herself, and apply to the 
prophet Ahijah, that they might know the issue of 
their son's sickness. Elijah, after his signal victory 
over the prophets of Baal, and the signal miracle 
which he wrought to convince both the king and his 
people, that Jehovah was the true God, gained such 
influence over Ahab, the wicked king, that he suffered 
him to put to death the four hundred false prophets 
of Baal. 1 Kings 18. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, 
having no confidence in the false prophets who were 
deceiving Ahab, urged him to look out for another ; 
when Micaiah was, by order of the king of Israel, 
brought forward ; who, we have seen, foretold his fall 
at Ramoth-gilead. On another occasion, Jehoram, his 
son and successor, at the suggestion of Jehoshaphat, 
consulted Elisha in relation to the dangerous condition 
of their armies when going to war with Moab. Heze- 
kiah, when threatened by the Assyrian king, had re- 
course to Isaiah to learn Jehovah's will; and his 
grandson Josiah, when alarmed by the threatenings 
in the books of Moses, sent a message to the pro- 
phetess Huldah, that he might know what would 
come to pass. 



116 PROPHECIES OP JEREMIAH. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 

The prophecies of Jeremiah are numerous. We 
select a few^ that relate — 1. to the capture and burn- 
ing of Jerusalem; — 2. to the restoration of the Jews; 
— 3. to the capture of Babylon. 



SECTION I. 

CAPTURE AND BURNING OF JERUSALEM. 

These may be ranged under the following particu- 
lars. 

1. Jeremiah prophecies that " out of the north an 
evil should break forth upon all the inhabitants of the 
land ;^^ and that Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah 
should be assailed by a powerful army. Chap. i. 13- 
16. Chaldea was to the north of Jerusalem. In chap. 
V. 7 — 18, the wickedness of the people is assigned as 
the cause of the impending evil ; and the prophet as- 
sures them it would certainly come. 

2. Nebuchadnezzar having led his army to Jerusa- 
lem, king Zedekiah sent messengers to consult Jere- 
miah. The prophet declares in the name of the Lord 
that their opposition would be in vain ; that the city 
would be captured, that the people would suffer from 
famine, and pestilence, and sword ; and that the re- 
mainder together with the king, would be delivered 
into the hands of the king of Babylon : but he gave 



PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 117 

assurance that those who left the city and went to 
the Chaldeans, would preserve theh lives. Chap. xxi. 
1—11. 

3. In chap, xxvii. 12 — 15, the prophet exhorted 
Zedekiah to submit to " the yoke of the king of Baby- 
lon, and serve him and his people,'^ that he and his 
people might live, and escape the evils that would 
come upon them, if, contrary to the Divine will, they 
should contend with that mighty monarch, whom God 
had commissioned to punish them and other nations. 

4. Zedekiah had imprisoned Jeremiah for his fidel- 
ity in declaring the alarming messages he had receiv- 
ed from the Lord; but unintimidated by persecution, 
the prophet, in chap, xxxii. 27 — 36, reaffirms his pre- 
dictions, and adds that the city would be burnt by the 
Chaldeans. 

5. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, marched his army to 
assail the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, 
which induced Nebuchadnezzar to break up the siege, 
and go to meet his enemy. High and confident hopes 
were entertained by Zedekiah and his people, that 
they would not return. But Jeremiah is directed to 
tell them that their hopes were fallacious, that the 
king of Egypt would afford them no effectual succour, 
and that the Chaldeans would certainly return to the 
siege, take the city, and "burn it with fire.'^ Chap, 
xxxvii. 7 — 10. 

6. Zedekiah again consults Jeremiah, who deliv- 
ers this prophecy : " If thou wilt assuredly go forth 
unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall 
Hve, and this city shall not be burnt with fire ; and 
thou shalt live, and thine house : but if thou wilt not 
go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall 
this city be given into the hands of the Chaldeans, 



118 PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 

and they shall bum it with fire, and thou shalt not 
escape out of their hands/^ Chap, xxxviil. 17, 18. 

7. xlll this was fulfilled. The city was taken ; Zed- 
ekiah fled by night out of the city ; he was pursued 
by the Chaldeans, and overtaken in the plains of 
Jericho; judgment Avas passed upon him by Nebu- 
chadnezzar; his sons were slain before his eyes; his 
own eyes were put out; and, being bound in chains, 
he was carried to Babylon. "The Chaldeans burn- 
ed the king's house, and the houses of the people with 
fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.^' Chap. 
xxxix. 1 — 8. The people too were carried to Baby- 
lon. Verse 9. 

Thus were the predictions of Jeremiah literally ful- 
filled. 

SECTION II. 

RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 

1. The certain return of the captive Jews is foretold 
in chap. xxiv. 4 — 7. 

2. In a letter which Jeremiah sent to the captive 
Jews in Babylon, he exhorts them to build houses, 
to plant gardens, to contract marriages, that they 
might increase and not be diminished, and to seek the 
peace of the city in which they were dwelling. Chap. 
xxix. 1 — 7. 

3. In the same letter the prophet foretells the dura- 
tion of their captivity, that it should last seventy 
years; and then reassures them that they should be 
restored to their own land. Chap. xxix. 10— -14. 
Again, in chap, xxxii. 42 — 44, it is written, "Thus 
saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all this great 
evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all 



PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 119 

the good that I have promised them. And fields shall 
be bought in this land, whereof ye say. It is desolate 
without man or beast ; it is given into the hands of 
the Chaldeans. Men shall buy fields for money, and 
subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses 
in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about 
Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities 
of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and 
in the cities of the south : for I will cause their cap- 
tivity to return, saith the Lord.'^ All this was fulfill- 
ed. See Ezra and Nehemiah, and the fourth section. 

SECTION III. 

CAPTURE OF BABYLON. 

1. This was most distinctly foretold. ^'The word 
that the Lord spake against Babylon, and the land of 
the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare ye 
among the nations, and set up a standard: publish 
and conceal it not; say, Babylon is taken, Merodach is 
broken in pieces, her idols are confounded, her images 
are broken in pieces. For out of the north there cometh 
up a nation against her, which shall make her land 
desolate, and none shall dwell therein : they shall re- 
move, they shall depart both man and beast.^^* Again, 
"For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against 
Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north 
country : and they shall set themselves in array 
against her ; from thence she shall be taken : their ar- 
rows shall be as of a mighty expert man ; none shall 
return in vain. And Chaldea shall be a spoil : all that 
spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord."t 

2. The manner of its capture was foretold. 

* Jeremiah 1. 1—3, t lb. I. 9, 10. 



120 PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 

" One post shall run to meet another, and one mes- 
senger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon 
that his city is taken at one end, and that the passages 
are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, 
and the men of war are affrighted. ^^* 

That Babylon was taken by Cyrus, who led his 
army, composed of many nations, from the north, is 
well known; and equally well known is the fact, that 
he took it by surprise, by diverting the course of the 
Euphrates, which ran through the city, thus laying 
the channel of the river bare ; by which means he 
was enabled to lead his army from both ends of the 
city, between the walls on both banks ; and finding 
the gates left open, he entered into the heart of the 
city, and soon became master of it. How exactly this 
corresponded with the prediction that " one post shall 
run to meet another, and one messenger to meet 
another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is 
taken at one end!'^ The city being captured at the 
extreme parts, the message from each part would be 
the same, the " city is taken at one end.^^ 

SECTION IV. 

FULFILMENT OF THE PREDICTION ABOUT THE JEWS' RESTORATION. 

That the Jews did return from Babylon to their 
own land is universally known. At the close of the 
second book of Chronicles is this record : " Now in 
the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word 
of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might 
be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of 
Cyrus king of Persia, that he made proclamation 
throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, 

* Jeremiah li. 31, 32, 



PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 121 

saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the king- 
doms of the earth hath the Lord God of Heaven given 
me ; and he hath charged me to build him an house 
in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there 
among you of all his people, let him go up."^ 

But what renders this proclamation the more mem- 
orable is, the fact, that Isaiah had foretold, more than 
one hundred and seventy years before the event, that 
Cyrus should act thus, and actually called him by 
name : " That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and 
shall perform all my pleasure ; even saying to Jeru- 
salem, Thou shalt be built ; and to the temple, Thy 
foundation shall be laid/^ " Thus saith the Lord to 
his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have 
holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will 
loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two 
leaved gates ; and the gates shall not be shut 5'^ mean- 
ing the inner gates of Babylon.t 



SECTION V. 



A review of the prophecies of Jeremiah will con- 
clusively establish the two following facts. 

1. No human foresight did^ or could frame them,. 

He began by predicting that nations from thei north 
would invade Judah, bring great evil on the land, and 
besiege Jerusalem. — Next when Nebuchadnezzar had 
come against that city, he foretold that he would take 
it and burn it, and that the king would not escape.— 
Then after the siege had been raised by the Chaldeans 

* 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23. Isaiah xliii. 28. t lb. xlv. 1. 

11 



122 PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 

to meet the king of Egypt, he predicted their certain 
return, and the certain capture and ruin of the city. 
He foretold also, that the captivity would last seventy 
years ; that Babylon, that impregnable city, would be 
conquered, and that the Jews would certainly be re- 
stored to their own land. These things were beyond 
the reach of any human foresight, and could be fore- 
known and revealed only by the omniscient Jehovah. 

2. Nothing but an imperious and pressing sense 
of duty induced Jeremiah to utter these predictions. 

He well knew that they were in direct opposition 
to the predictions of the false prophets, who flattered 
the pride and strengthened the false hopes of the king 
and his nobles. He suffered much for his fidelity. 
So exasperated were the people against him, that it is 
recorded, " all the people were gathered against Jere- 
miah in the house of the Lord;'^ and "the priests 
and the prophets'^ said " to the princes, and to all the 
people. This man is worthy to die ; for he hath pro- 
phesied against this city, as ye have heard with your 
ears.^^* The king imprisoned him on account of his 
predictions ;t and when he had released him, he was 
arrested and falsely accused of deserting to the enemy, 
and punished by the princes, and thrown into a dun- 
geon.J The king, however, removed him from the 
dungeon to the court of the prison, and gave him a 
daily supply of bread; until the princes besought him 
that he might be put to death ; and the royal assent 
being granted, that they might do as they pleased, he 
was thrown into the dungeon in which was no water, 
but mire. He sank in the mire, and would have 
perished, had not a compassionate and pious eunuch 

* Isaiah xxvi. 9 — 11. t lb. xxxvii. 11 — 16; xxxviii. 4— 6. 

t lb. xxxii. 2, 3. 



PROPHECIES OF JEREMIAH. 123 

entreated the king to save the Hfe of the prophet. 
Being directed by the king to take with him thirty 
men, he drew the prophet out of the horrible dun- 
geon.* 

How overwhelming the sense of duty that con- 
strained the prophet in such circumstances, to utter, 
and persist in uttering, his most unwelcome messages! 
How strongly he expresses his feelings! "Wo is 
me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of 
strife and a man of contention to the whole earth ! I 
have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me 
on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.'^t 

Jeremiah found no pleasure in denouncing the ruin 
of his country. He was a true patriot. With what 
beauty and pathos does he, in his Lamentations^ be- 
wail the calamities of his country and the desolations 
of her sanctuary ! And with what force of language 
does he set forth his own grief in view of the miseries 
of his countrymen ! " Mine eyes do fail with tears, 
my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the 
earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my peo- 
ple : because the children and the sucklings swoon in 
the streets in the city.^'f 

* Isaiah xxxviii. 7 — 12. f lb. xv. 10, X Lamentations ii. 11. 



124 



CHAPTER IX. 

PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST, AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 

SECTION I. 

SUNDRY PARTICULARS. 

The prophecies relating to Christ recorded in the 
sacred Scriptures, are very numerous. We shall 
select a few as a specimen. His descent, — the time 
of his coming, — the circumstances of his birth, — his 
miracles, — his life, — his sufferings,— his death,— the 
manner and circumstances of it, — his burial, — his 
offices, — his resurrection,^ — his ascension, — his gifts; — 
were all foretold, ages before the events occurred. 

1. His descent. Christ was to be of the seed of 
Abraham.* He was to be of the tribe of Judah.t 
He was to be of the family of David.J Now, all 
these predictions were manifestly fulfilled in Christ. 
See his genealogy. Matt. i. That the Pharisees knew 
this was to be the descent of their Messiah, is evident; 
for when our Lord proposed this question, "What 
think ye of Christ ? whose son is he ?" they promptly 
replied, "The son of David. "§ 

2. The time of his coming. The patriarch Jacob 
prophesied that He would appear before the govern- 
ment of Jadah was entirely overthrown. || When 

* Genesis xii. 3 ; xxvi. 4 ; xxviii. 14, § Matthew xxii. 42. 

t lb. xlix. 10. Micah v. 2. H Genesis xlix. 10. 

I Isaiah xi. 1. Jeremiah xxiii. 5, 6. 



AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 125 

Christ came the sceptre was departing, but still the 
Jews were governed in some measure by their own 
laws.* Seventy years after his death their entire 
state and nation were overthrown ; and, for ages past, 
the tribes have been so confounded, that no Jew can 
tell from which he is descended. 

Daniel prophesied that seventy weeks or four hun- 
dred and ninety years were appointed for the pur- 
poses specified in his prediction. He marks the date ; 
from which calculations are made, that prove that 
Jesus Christ is he of whom the prophet spake. t 

Haggai says, "The desire of all nations shall 
come/^ — " The glory of this latter house shall be 
greater than of the former.'^J So small was the 
second temple when first built, that the ancient men 
who had seen the first house "wept with a loud 
voice,'^ when they saw the foundation laid.§ This 
inferior house was afterwards greatly enlarged and 
beautified by Herod ; but still it was much inferior to 
the house built for God by Solomon. Jesus Christ 
appeared while the second temple was standing ; and, 
by his presence, as the Son of God and Saviour of the 
world, imparted to it a greater glory than that by 
which the first was adorned. 

3. The circumstances of his birth. 

The place of his birth was designated in prophecy. 
" But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little 
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall 
he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel ; 
whose goings forth have been of old, from everlast- 

* Luke ii. 1—8. X Haggai ii. 6—9. 

+ Daniel ix. 24—27. § Ezra iii. 12. 

II* 



126 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST 

ing/^* When Herod the king demanded of the chief 
priests and scribes where Christ should be born, they 
readily replied, "In Bethlehem/' and referred, as proof 
of their opinion, to the passage quoted from Micah. 
The fulfilrnent of this prediction was very remarkable. 
Had he been born in the place where his mother 
Uved, Nazareth would have been the honoured place. 
Bat that the divine prediction may be fulfilled, the 
world is set in motion ; a decree goes forth from the 
Roman emperor that all the world shall be taxed. 
This order rendered it necessary for Joseph and Mary 
to go to Bethlehem. While they were there, she 
brought forth her son.t How sure the words of God ! 
Isaiah foretold that Messiah would be born, when 
the family of David was depressed, and deprived of 
their former prosperity : " And there shall come forth 
a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall 
grow out of his roots.'' J He was to resemble a shoot 
springing out of a tree that had been cut down. 
Such he was; for his mother and his reputed father 
were so poor, that, when at Bethlehem, they could 
not command a place in the inn, although she was in 
a situation so delicate. They were compelled to 
retire to a stable ; and there was the Saviour, the 
Lord of glory, born. He was " wrapped in swad- 
dling clothes, and laid in a manger.§" 

4. His life. Isaiah prophesied, "The Spirit of 
the Lord God is upon me ; because the Lord hath 
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ; 
he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to 
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of 
the prison to them that are bound,"l| &c. How emi- 

* Micah V. 2. t Isaiah xi. 1. |1 Isaiah Ixi. 1 — 3. 

t Matthew ii. 1—6. § Luke ii. 7, 



AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 127 

nently was this prediction fulfilled ! " And, lo, the 
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the 
Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting 
upon him/^* Returning from the wilderness where 
he had fasted forty days, and had been tempted by 
the devil, '' he came to Nazareth where he had been 
brought up : and as his custom was, he went into 
the synagogue on the Sabbath day.'' The book of 
the prophet Isaiah was delivered unto him. He 
opened it, and read the passage just recited. " He 
closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, 
and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in 
the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began 
to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled 
in your ears. And all bare witness, and wondered at 
the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. "t 

The same prophet foretold the miracles our Re- 
deemer would perform. Speaking of him, he says, 
" Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the 
* ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the 
lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb 
sing.^'t John sent two of his disciples to Jesus to 
inquire, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look 
for another? Jesus answered and said unto them. Go 
and show John again those things which ye do hear 
and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame 
walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the 
dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel 
preached to them.''§ 

The same prophet predicted the humility, meek- 
ness, and compassion of the Redeemer. Of him he 
speaks when he says, " He shall not cry, nor lift up, 

* Matthew iii. 16. X Isaiah xxxv. 4 — 6. 

t Luke iv. 1 6—22. § Matthew xi. 2—5. 



128 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST, 

nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A 
bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax 
shall he not quench/'* The gospels bear ample tes- 
timony to the humiUty, the meekness, and the com- 
passion of Christ. 

While prophecy thus characterized the Messiah, it 
spake of his zeal for God : " The zeal of thine house 
hath eaten me up.^'t See the fulfilment in John : 
" Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and he found in the 
temple those that sold oxen, and sheep and doves, and 
the changers of money sitting : and when he had made 
a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the 
temple, and the sheep, and the oxen ; and he poured 
out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 
and he said unto them that sold doves, Take these 
things hence ; make not my Father's house, an house 
of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that 
it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me 
up."t 

Prophecy says, *• He was despised and rejected 
of men, and we esteemed him not."§ The gospel his- 
tory says. He was despised and rejected by the Jew- 
ish scribes, and pharisees, and people. "He came to 
his own, and his own received him not."|| 

Prophecy says, " I am a worm and no man ; a re- 
proach of men, and despised of the people."ir The 
gospel history says, " Behold a man gluttonous, and 
a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." 
"But when the pharisees heard it, they said. This 
fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the 
prince of devils."** 

* Isaiah xlii. 1—4. X John ii. 13—17. H John i. 11. 

t Psahns Ixix. 9. § Isaiah liii. 3. IT Psalms xxii. 6. 

** Matthew xi. 19 ; xiii. 24. 



AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 129 

Prophecy says, " The kings of the earth set them- 
selves, and the rulers take counsel together, against 
the Lord, and against his anointed.^^^ The gospel 
history says, "For of a truth against thy holy child 
Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pon- 
tius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, 
were gathered together, for to do what thy hand and 
thy counsel determined before to be done/^t 

Prophecy says, "He was wounded for our trans- 
gressions, he was bruised for our iniquities ; the chas- 
tisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his 
stripes we are healed/'J The gospel history^ in 
showing its fulfilment, points to the poverty of the 
Redeemer's life, to the garden of Gethsemane, to the 
palace of the High-priest, to the hall of Pilate, and to 
the hill of Calvary. 

Prophecy says, " He was oppressed, and he was 
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth : he was brought 
as a lamb to the slaughter ; and as a sheep before her 
shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.''§ 
The gospel history says, "And when he was accused 
of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. 
Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how 
many things they Avitness against thee? And he an- 
swered him to never a word ; insomuch that the gov- 
ernor marvelled greatly/^|| 

5. His deaths its manner and attending circum- 
stances, Daniel predicted, "And after three score and 
two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for him- 
self It is recorded by Matthew, "Jesus, when he 
had cried with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost/'IF 

* Psalms ii. 2. § Isaiah liii. 7. 

t Acts iv. 27, 28. || Matt, xxvii. 12—14. 

X Isaiah liii. 5. IT Daniel ix. 28. Matt, xxvii. 50. 



130 

Prophecy said, "They pierced my hands and my 
feet/^ " They shall look upon me whom they have 
pierced.^^ "He was numbered with the transgres- 
sors.^' The gospel history says, "And when they 
were come to the place which is called Calvary, 
there they crucified him, and the malefactors with 
him, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.^' 
" But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his 
side/^* 

Prophecy says, "All they that see me laugh me to 
scorn ; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, 
saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver 
him; let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him/^ 
— "They part my garments among them, and cast lots 
on my vesture.'^ " They gave me also gall for my 
meat ; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to 
drink/^t The gospel history says, " They gave him 
vinegar to drink mingled with gall : and when he had 
tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified 
him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it 
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, 
They parted my garments among them, and upon my 
vesture did they cast lots/^ " And they that passed 
by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying. Thou 
that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three 
days, save thyself. Likewise the chief priests mocking 
him, with the scribes and elders, said. He saved others; 
himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, 
let him now come down from the cross, and we will 
believe him. He trusted in God ; let him deliver him 
now, if he will have him : for he said, I am the Son 
ofGod.^^t 

* Isa. liii. 12. Zech. xii. 10. Luke xxiii. 33. John xix. 34. 
t Psalms xxii. 7, 8. 18. 69. 21. X Matt, xxvii. 34, 35. 39—43. 



AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 131 

6. His burial. Isaiah predicted, ^' And he made 
his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his 
death/^ Matthew records the fulfilment : " When 
even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, 
named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple; 
he went boldly to Pilate, and begged the body of 
Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be de- 
hvered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he 
wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own 
new tomb, which he had hewn out in a rock : and he 
rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and 
departed.''* 

7. His offices. Moses predicted, '^ The Lord thy 
God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst 
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ; unto him shall 
ye hearken." John and Luke record the accomplish- 
ment: " Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, 
We have found him of whom Moses and the prophets 
did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 
"And they glorified God, saying. That a great prophet 
is risen up among us, and, That God hath visited his 
people."! 

David predicted, " Yet have I set my king upon 
my holy hill of Zion;" and Zechariah, "Rejoice great- 
ly, daughter of Zion ; shout, daughter of Jeru- 
salem : behold, thy king cometh unto thee : he is just, 
and having salvation : lowly, and riding upon an ass, 
and upon a colt the foal of an ass." 

Matthew records the fulfilment: "And all this was 
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by 
the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, 
Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting 

* Isaiah liii. 9. Mat. xxvii. 57 — 60. 

f Deut, xviii, 15, John i. 45, Luke vii, 16. 



132 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST, 

upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.'^ — And the 
multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, 
saying, Hosanna to the son of David : Blessed is he 
that Cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the 
highest/^* 

Peter said on the day of Pentecost, '' This Jesus 
hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. 
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and 
having received of the Father the promise of the Holy 
Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and 
hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens : but 
he saith himself. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou 
on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. 
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, 
that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye cruci- 
fied, both Lord and Christ.^^t 

The language of prophecy by David is, " The Lord 
hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest 
forever after the order of Melchizedec ;'' and by Ze- 
chariah, " Behold the man whose name is the Branch 
— he shall be a priest upon his throne.'' Paul re- 
cords the accomplishment. " Whither the forerunner 
is for us entered, even Jesus made an high priest for- 
ever after the order of Melchizedec." — " For such an 
high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, unde- 
filed, separate from sinners, and made higher than the 
heavens. "J 

8. His resurrection. The language of prophecy: 
^^Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt 
thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." The 
language oi history: ^'And the angel answered and 

* Psalms ii. 6. Zech. ix. 9. Matt. xxi. 5. 9. 

t Acts ii. 32—36. 

\ Psalms ex. 4. Zech. vi. 12, 13. Heb. vi. 20. vii. 26. 



AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 133 

said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye 
seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here ; for 
he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where 
the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples 
that he is risen from the dead : and, behold, he goetli 
before you into Galilee 5 there shall ye see him : lo, I 
have told you.'^* 

9. His ascension into heaven. The language of 
prophecy: "Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast 
led captivity captive : thou hast received gifts for men ; 
yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might 
dwell among them.^^ The language of fulfilment: 
^' And when he had spoken these things, while they 
beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received him 
out of their sight.^^ "And he gave some, apostles; 
and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists; and some, 
pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, 
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the 
body of Christ.'^! 

SECTION II. 



Here let the reader pause, and review these pro- 
phecies. By a careful inspection of them he will find 
the following points clearly established: 

1. Their great antiquity. 

The predictions quoted were uttered and recorded 
long before the Saviour was born. Zechariah, the 
latest prophet referred to, lived more than five hun- 
dred years before the advent of Jesus Christ. Haggai 
lived about the same time ; Daniel, earlier ; Isaiah 

* Psalm xvi. 10. Matt, xxviii. 5—7. 
t Psalm Ixviii. 18. Acts i. 9. Ephesians iv. 11, 12. 
12 



134 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST, 

and Mieah, nearly seven hundred ; David, more than 
a thousand ; and Moses, more than fourteen hundred 
years, before the event predicted. 

2. These prophecies all relate to one and the 

SAME PERSON. 

The great prophet^ and the seed of Abraham, in 
whom all nations were to be blest, of whom Moses 
spake; — Shiloh, of whose coming Jacob foretold; — the 
Ruler ^ whose birth was to adorn Bethlehem Ephratah, 
of whom Micah prophesied; — Messiah, whose death 
Daniel predicted; — The desire of all nations, who 
Haggai foretold would come to his temple ; — the rod 
out of the stern of Jesse, spoken of by Isaiah ; — the 
ANOINTED ONE, and He by whom such miracles were 
to be wrought, and the servant of God, whose 
humility, meekness, and compassion, were foretold by 
the same prophet; — He, whose sufferings, death, and 
burial, were predicted, both by David and Isaiah; — 
the PROPHET, the priest, and king, of whom Moses, 
David, and Zechariah spake, in the spirit of pro- 
phecy : — were all one and the same person, the 
Messiah ; for in him all were fulfilled. 

These predictions guided the expectations of the 
Jews, and led them to look for the coming of the 
Messiah, at the time when Jesus Christ was born. 

3. These prophecies constitute a long and numer- 
ous series, spreading through many centuries. 

They relate to the descent of Messiah, — the time of 
his coming, — the circumstances of his birth, — his 
miracles, — his life, — and various particulars of it, — 
his sufferings, — his death, — the manner and circum- 
stances attending it, — his burial, — his offices, — his re- 
surrection, — his ascension, — and his gifts. We have 
quoted twenty-seven, and might have increased the 



AND THEIR FULFILMENT. 135 

number. They were delivered by eight different pro- 
phets, who lived centuries from each other. 

4. Such a series of prophecies concerning contin- 
gent events J that were to occur hundreds of years 
after the death of the prophets, was unquestionably 
beyond the reach of human foresight. 

It was utterly impossible for the human mind in 
one man to frame such a prophetic scheme of future 
events ; and much more impossible for different men, 
living in a succession of many ages, to combine to 
frame it. None but the Eternal, who lives through 
all ages, the omniscient Jehovah, who sees through 
all time, past, present, and to come ; could inspire the 
prophets to utter, and record these marvellous predic- 
tions. 

5. Ml these prophecies have been vfianifestly ful- 
filled in the person of Jesus Christ. 

He is the seed of Abraham ; he belonged to the 
tribe of Judah ; and he was of the family of David. 
He was born at the time predicted by Daniel, and 
when the family of David was greatly reduced. His 
life, and death, and burial, all corresponded with the 
prophecies. He was the Messiah, who Daniel said 
would be cut off; the anointed one of whom Isaiah 
spake, and who was to perform such great miracles. 
He is the Shiloh of Jacob, to whom was to be the 
gatherings of the people ; " the Prophet of whom 
Moses in the law, and the prophets did ^yrite;^^ the 
Priest upon his throne^ according to Zechariah; the 
Priest after the order of Melchizedec, accord- 
ing to David; the King whom God has set in Zion. 
He is the Desire of all nations, who Haggai 
prophesied would suddenly come to his temple. All 
the predictions have been fulfilled in him. 



136 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

SECTION III. 

THE TESTIMONY AND PROOF, THAT ALL THESE TROPHECIES WERE FUL- 
FILLED IN JESUS CHRIST, ARE AMPLE. 

The descent of Jesus Christ from Abraham, in the 
tribe of Judah, through the family of David, two 
EvangeUsts prove, by appeaHng to the pubhc regis- 
ters of the nation, that had been kept with the greatest 
care. That he came before the expiration of Daniel's 
seventy weeks, and that he appeared in the second 
temple, will not be denied. His humble birth, as 
recorded in the gospels, is readily admitted. His 
Hfe, his sufferings, his crucifixion, his death, and 
his burial, are proved, not only by the Evangelists, 
four independent witnesses, but by the Apostles, 
who were eye-witnesses of these important facts. 
They were certainly competent and credible wit- 
nesses. Men of sound minds, they could not be 
deceived or mistaken in these plain matters ; and that 
they were fully convinced of the facts to which they 
testified, and did not intend, nor wish, to deceive any 
by their preaching, is manifest from the labours ta 
which they submitted, and the sufferings they endured 
through life, and by sealing their testimony with their 
blood. 

The miracles too wrought by our Redeemer are re- 
corded by the four Evangelists ; and they were pub- 
lished by the twelve apostles, wherever they went, 
and confirmed by the miracles which they themselves 
were enabled to work in his name. Their testimony, 
as eye-witnesses of our Saviour's miracles, delivered 
in the most solemn manner, and persisted in, notwith- 
standing the threats of Jewish priests and rulers, and 
the persecutions of the heathen nations, ought to be 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 137 

received and relied upon by every candid inquiring 
mind. But for convincing arguments on the truth of 
the miracles both of Christ and his apostles, the reader 
is referred to the second sections of the second and 
third chapters. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, THE GREAT MIRACLE, 

On this greatest of all the miracles recorded by the 
Evangelists and testified to by his Apostles, the resur- 
rection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we wish here 
to dilate. 

The importance of this fact is easily seen. It lies 
at the foundation of the Christian religion. If Jesus 
Christ really rose from the dead, his religion is true, 
and all who believe in him will be saved ; but if he 
be not raised, then is our " faith vain ; we are yet in 
our sins.'^ 

The Redeemer himself attached great importance 
to this all interesting fact. He foretold his own re- 
surrection. " From that time forth,'^ says Matthew,"^ 
^^ began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he 
must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the 
elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, 
and be raised again the third day.'^ Again the same 
writer says,t " And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took 
the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto 
them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem 5 and the Son 

* Matthew xvi. 21. t lb. xx. 17-19. 

12* 



138 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and 
unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to 
death ; and they shall deliver him to the Gentiles to 
mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him ; and the 
third day he shall rise again.'^ "Therefore doth my 
Father love me/' says our Lord, " because I lay down 
my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh 
it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have 
power to lay it down, and I have power to take it 
again.''* The Jews demanded a sign from Jesus, 
saying, "What sign showest thou unto us, seeing 
thou doest these things ? Jesus answered and said 
unto them. Destroy this temple, and in three days I 
will raise it again." — " He spake of the temple of his 
body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, 
his disciples remembered that he had said this unto 
them ; and they believed the scripture, and the word 
which Jesus had said.^t "I adjure thee," said the 
high priest, "by the living God, that thou tell us 
whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus 
said unto him. Thou hast said: nevertheless I say 
unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man 
sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in 
the clouds of heaven." J 

Thus Jesus taught his disciples to look for his resur- 
rection ; and on his resurrection he rested his claims 
to the character of Messiah, the Son of God. 

Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead ? Important 
question ! His resurrection was the counter-part of 
his life. If he who wrought such miracles while 
living ; who exercised a control over all the elements 
of nature ; who performed his miracles, not as the 
prophets, but as God, in his own name, saying, " I 

* John X. 17, 18. t lb. ii. 19-22. X Matthew xxvi. 62, 63. 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. l39 

will ; be thou clean ;'^ if he had not risen from the 
dead, it would have been wonderful indeed. 

" And behold, there was a great earthquake : for 
the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and 
came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat 
upon it. His countenance was like hghtning, and 
his raiment white as snow : and for fear of him the 
keepers did shake and became as dead men.^^* This 
was the prelude to our Lord's resurrection. It har- 
monized with the occurrences at his death, when all 
nature sympathized with the sufferer : " From the 
sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto 
the nitith hour.^'t A preternatural darkness; the sun 
ashamed at the atrocious crime committed by wicked 
men, hid his face, and refused to behold the awful 
scene. " And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent 
in twain from the top to the bottom ; and the earth 
did quake, and the rocks rent ; and the graves were 
opened ; and many bodies of the saints which slept 
arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrec- 
tion ; and went into the holy city, and appeared unto 
many. Now when the centurion, and they that 
were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, 
and those things that were done, they feared greatly, 
saying, Truly this was the Son of God. ''J This 
may be considered as an introductory proof. 

SECTION I. 

ARGUMENT FROM HIS APPEARANCES. 

In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn 
toward the first day of the week, came Mary Mag- 
dalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. — And 

* Matthew xxviii. 2-4. f lb. xxvii. 45. \ lb. xxvii. 45, 51-55. 



140 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear 
not ye : for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was 
crucified. He is not here : for he is risen, as he said. 
Come, see the place where tlie Lord lay; and go 
quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the 
dead ; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee ; 
there shall ye see him : lo, I have told you.'^* This 
is the first proof. 

" But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weep- 
ing : and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked 
into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white 
sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, 
where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say 
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith 
unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, 
and I know not where they have laid him. And 
when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and 
saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. 
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou ? 
whom seekest thou ? She, supposing him to be the 
gardener, saith unto him. Sir, if thou have borne him 
hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will 
take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She 
turned herself and saith unto him, Rabboni ; which is 
to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her. Touch me not ; 
for I am not yet ascended to my Father : but go to my 
brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father 
and your Father, and to my God and your God.^'t 
" Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the 
week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of 
whom he had cast seven devils.'\-|: This is the second 
proof. 

"And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, 
Jesus met them, saying. All hail. And they came 
* Matthew xxviii, 1-7. t John xx. 11-17. X Mark xvi. 9. 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 141 

and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then 
said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid; go tell my 
brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall 
they see me.'^^ This is the third proof. 

Additional proofs of our Lord's resurrection, are 
recorded for the confirmation of our faith. He ap- 
peared to Simon Peter ; then to two disciples going to 
Emmaus, to whom, after conversing with them as 
they walked along, without knowing him, he revealed 
himself, when "he took bread, and blessed it, and 
brake, and gave to them,'^ and then "vanished out of 
their sight.^^t In the evening of that day the eleven 
being assembled together, and hearing the story of 
the two disciples, " Jesus himself stood in the midst 
of them, and saith unto them. Peace be unto you. 
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed 
they had seen a spirit, and he said unto them^ 
Why are ye troubled ? and why do thoughts arise in 
your hearts ? Behold my hands and my feet, that it 
is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit hath not 
flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he 
had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his 
feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and 
wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any 
meat ? And they gave him a piece of broiled fish^ 
and an honey-comb. And he took it, and did eat 
before them. And he said unto them. These are the 
words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with 
you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were 
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and 
in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their 
understandings, that they might understand the Scrip- 
tures; and said unto them, Thus it is written, and 

* Matthew xxviii. 9, 10. t Luke xxiv. 3, 13—33. 



142 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

thus it behoved Christ to suffer^ and then to rise from 
the dead the third day.'^'^ 

Here are three different appearances: — 1. to Peter; 
2. to the two disciples ; 3. to the eleven. 

" But," says John, " Thomas, one of the twelve, 
called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have 
seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I 
shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put 
my finger in the print of the nails, and thrust my 
hand into his side, I will not believe." 

"And after eight days, again his disciples were 
within, and Thomas with them : Then came Jesus, 
the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, 
Peace be unto you. Then said he unto Thomas, 
Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands ; and 
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side : and 
be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered 
and said unto him. My Lord and my God. Jesus 
said unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, 
thou hast believed : blessed are they that have not 
seen, and yet have believed. "t 

Here is another distinct appearance to the disciples. 
Of another we have an account in the next chapter. 
Peter, and six other disciples went a fishing. Verse 
42. "That night they caught nothing. But when 
morning was come, Jesus stood on the shore : but the 
disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus 
saith unto them. Children, have ye any meat ? They 
answered him. No. And he said unto them. Cast the 
net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. 
They cast it therefore ; and now they were not able 
to draw it for the abundance of fishes. Therefore 

* Luke xxiv. 33—46. t John xx. 24—29. 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 143 

the disciple whom Jesus loved, saith unto Peter, It is 
the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was 
the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he 
was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And 
the other disciples came in a little ship ; (for they were 
not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits;) 
dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they 
were come to land, they saw a fire of coals, and fish 
laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, 
Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon 
Peter went and drew the net to land full of great 
fishes, an hundred and fifty-three : and for all there 
were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus 
saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the 
disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that 
it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh 
bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.'^ 

^^This is now the third time that Jesus showed, 
himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from 
the dead.^'^ 

In the preceding chapter, (verses 30, 31.) this Evan- 
gelist records this fact: " And many other signs truly 
did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are 
not written in this book : but these are written, that 
ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of 
God ; and that believing ye might have life through 
his name.'' 

Thus Jesus Christ proved to his disciples the truth 
of his resurrection : 

1. By the earthquake, the descent of an angel from 
heaven, who rolled away the stone from the door of 
the sepulchre, and terrified the Roman soldiers, by 
the splendour of his appearance ; and by the different 

* John xxi. 1 — 14, 



144 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

visions of angels to the women, who assured them 
that their Lord was indeed risen from the dead. 

2. By the various appearances he made of him- 
self to his disciples, attended with various acts to 
satisfy them that he was truly alive from the dead : — 
1. to Mary Magdalene, — 2. to the women, — 3. to 
Peter, — 4. to two disciples, — 5. to the assembled apos- 
tles and the two disciples, in the absence of Thomas, — 
6. to the assembled apostles, when Thomas was pre- 
sent, — 7. to Peter, and six other disciples, who were 
fishing in the sea of Tiberias. Paul adds, that Christ 
" was seen by above five hundred brethren at once ; 
of whom the greater part remain unto the present, 
but some are fallen asleep.^'* 

All this accumulated evidence was surely sufficient 
to convince his disciples that he was really alive from 
the dead. They knew him, and could not be de- 
ceived. That the apostles and others were fully con- 
vinced of the great fact, that their Master had risen 
from the dead, they gave undoubted proof in their 
future conduct. All this, and additional evidence was 
in due time spread before the Jewish people, by con- 
versation, by the preaching of the apostles, and by 
the gospels. Previously to the publication of either 
gospel, or the apostles' preaching, evidence of the 
most public kind was given at Jerusalem. 



SECTION II. 

ARGUMENT FROM THE WONDERS WROUGHT ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 

Jesus Christ had repeatedly promised to his apos- 
tles the gift of the Holy Ghost. In his last conversa- 

* 1 Corinthians xv, 6. 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 145 

tion with them, before his death, he said, " Howbeit 
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide 
you into all truth: for he shall not speak of him- 
self; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he 
speak : and he will show you things to come. He 
shall glorify me : for he shall take of the things that 
are mine, and shall show it unto you. All things 
that the Father hath are mine : therefore said I, that 
he shall take of mine, and show it unto you.* After 
his resurrection he repeated more than once the same 
promise. In the Acts it is recorded, ^' To whom also 
he showed himself alive after his passion by many 
infallible proofs ; being seen of them forty days, and 
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of 
God : and, being assembled together with them, com- 
manded them that they should not depart from Jeru- 
salem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, 
saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly bap- 
tized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the 
Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they there- 
fore were come together, they asked of him, saying, 
Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the king- 
dom to Israel ? And he said unto them, It is not for 
you to know the times and the seasons, which the 
Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall 
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come 
upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in 
Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and 
unto the uttermost part of the earth. "t 

This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, 
when the disciples " were all with one accord in one 
place. ^^ And suddenly there came a sound from hea- 

* John xvi. 13—15. See also, 7—11. and xiv. 16, 17, 26. 
t Acts i. 3—8. 

13 



146 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

ven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the 
house where they were sitting. And there appeared 
imto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat 
upon each of them. And they were all filled with 
the Holy Ghost^and began to speak with other tongues, 
as the Spirit gave them utterance. ^^'^ 

The wonders of this memorable day presented 
three distinct and convincing proofs of the resurrec- 
tion of our blessed Lord. 

1. The change wy^ought in the apostles. 

When their Master w^as apprehended by his ene- 
mies, they forsook him and fled; and after his resur- 
rection, they kept themselves from public view, and 
assembled together privately through fear of the Jews. 
But on this memorable day, they suddenly laid aside 
all fear, and, in the presence of a great multitude, 
brought together by the rumour of the miracle 
wrought, they boldly preached the gospel. Peter, 
•with the greatest intrepidity, not only explained the 
miracle, and showed it to be a fulfilment of a promise 
recorded by Joel the prophet, in their Scriptures, 
many hundred years ago, but affirmed the resurrec- 
tion of Jesus Christ to be the accomphshment of a 
prediction delivered by David, and charged them 
with being his murderers ; saying, " Him being de- 
livered by the determinate counsel and foreknow- 
ledge of God, ye have taken, and with wicked hands 
have crucified and slain. ^^t 

So wonderful a change was instantly wrought in 
the apostles; not a transient or temporary change, 
but one that lasted through life ; a change which no 
threats of Jewish rulers, nor imprisonment, nor stripes, 
nor dangers, nor suff'erings, nor fear of death, could 

* Actsii. 1-4. t lb. ii. 22-33. 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 147 

overcome. Always retaining the same undaunted 
spirit through Ufe, they persevered in bearing testi- 
mony to the resurrection of their Lord, and in preach- 
ing his blessed gospel, till death terminated their min- 
istry. Marvellous change ! Is it not conclusive 
evidence, that Jesus Christ lives and reigns in heaven? 
Did he not send down the Holy Ghost to work this 
change in the hearts of his apostles ? Was it not a 
fulfilment of his promise? But how could he have 
fulfilled his promise, and sent down the Holy Ghost 
from heaven, if he were dead, and not alive, and 
reigning in glory ? 

2. The gift of tongues. 

No one can read this chapter, especially from the 
fourth to the twelfth verse with an unprejudiced 
rnind, and interpret it according to the natural force 
and meaning of the terms used in narrating the mira- 
cle, and yet doubt, that the sacred writer designed to 
record it as a fact, that the apostles did receive the 
gift of knowing and speaking languages which they 
had not previously studied and learned in the usual 
way. If any, notwithstanding this record, doubt the 
fact itself, we refer them to the writings of the apos- 
tles in the Greek language, which they never learned, 
as conclusive evidence of the reality of the miracle 
recorded in this chapter. Here is a second proof of 
the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ; for 
who, but a living and infinitely glorious person, could, 
by his Spirit, communicate, in an instant, the know- 
ledge of foreign languages, to a number of human 
minds, so as to enable them immediately to address, 
in an intelligent manner, individuals to whom these 
languages were native ? 



148 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

3. The third proof is the effect of the apostles^ 
preaching. 

Amazement seized the multitude^ when they heard 
these GaHleans speaking in languages which they had 
not learned. Verses 7-12. 

Conviction was produced in many minds, when 
Peter assured them that God had made Jesus, whom 
they had crucified both Lord and Christ ; so that they 
exclaimed, " Men and brethren, what shall we do ?'' 
Verses 36, 37. 

Three thousand embraced the gospel, and were 
baptized, that same day, " in the name of Jesus, for 
the remission of sins.'^ 

Nor was the change produced in these Jews tempo- 
rary. It was a permanent and blessed change, that 
manifested itself in love to God and love to men. 
" And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doc- 
trine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in 
prayers.^' " And all that believed were together, and 
had all things common ; and sold their possessions 
and goods, and parted to all men, as every man had 
need. And they continuing daily with one accord in 
the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, 
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of 
heart; praising God, and having favour with all the 
people.^^ Verses 42-47. 

This was truly a wonderful change ! The men in 
whom it was produced were Jews, strongly attached 
to the Mosaic institutions, and violently opposed to the 
Redeemer. Regarding him as an impostor and blas- 
phemer, they had a little before crucified him as such. 
Yet in one day their enmity and prejudices were sub- 
dued; their views of his character so changed that 
they believed him to be the long promised Messiah, 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 149 

in whom, as their great Redeemer, they were wilUng 
to trust for salvation ; and whom they openly con- 
fessed as such, regardless of the opposition both of the 
people and of their rulers. What could have produced 
so wonderful a change in this multitude of unbeliev- 
ing Jews, who, the day before, were bitterly opposed 
to Jesus Christ, whom they had crucified as an im- 
postor, but the power of that same Divine Spirit who 
wrought the change in the apostles which we have 
noticed, and conferred on them the gift of tongues ; 
that Holy Spirit, whom the Redeemer had in fulfil- 
ment of his promise, shed down upon his disciples to 
convince them more fully that he was alive from the 
dead, and reigning in glory at his Father's right hand ? 

SECTION III. 

ARGUMENT FROM THE CONVERSION OF THE APOSTLE PAUL. 

Paul was certainly a great man. Both before and 
after his conversion he displayed eminent talents. He 
was born in Tarsus, a Roman citizen, but a Hebrew 
of the Hebrews, being such by descent, both on his 
father's and his mother's side. To complete his educa- 
tion, he went to Jerusalem, and there studied under 
that celebrated master Gamaliel. He was a Jew in 
his views, feelings, and conduct; a pharisee of the 
strictest sect. 

What a wonderful contrast appears in the life of 
this man! At first he entertained all the prejudices 
of his countrymen against Jesus Christ. Before king 
Agrippa, he said, " I verily thought Avith myself, that 
I ought to do many things contrary to the name of 
Jesus of Nazareth."'^ When Stephen, the first mar- 

* Acts xxvi, 9. 
13^ 



150 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

tyr of the Christian faith, was stoned to death, Paul 
consented to the bloody and wicked deed. With this 
single act of unrighteous persecution he was not satis- 
fied, but growing in hatred of the Redeemer's fol- 
lowers, he shut them up in prison, punished them 
oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blas- 
pheme ; " And being exceedingly mad against them, 
he persecuted them even unto strange cities/'^ " He 
made havoc of the church, and entering into every 
house, and haUng men and women, committed them 
to prison."! His malice unsatisfied by the miseries he 
had brought on the church, by his bitter persecutions, 
and still " breathing out threatenings and slaughters 
against the disciples of the Lord," he projected a plan 
for their extermination. He " went unto the high 
priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the 
synagogues, that, if he found any of this way, whether 
they were men or women, he might bring them 
bound unto Jerusalem."J Such was Saul the perse- 
cutor. How diff*erent from Paul the Christian and the 
Apostle ! So soon as he was convinced that Jesus 
was the Messiah, he began to preach him as such, 
and that he was the Son of God. This he did at Da- 
mascus, whither he had gone on his persecuting 
errand; and by the strength of his arguments he con- 
founded the Jews in that city. To save his life from 
being destroyed by a conspiracy among the Jews, the 
disciples let him down from the city wall, the gates 
being watched day and night by the Jews who sought 
to kill him. Having after this preached the gospel in 
Arabia, he went to Jerusalem to see the apostles ; and 
there he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
and disputed against the Grecians. To save his life 

* Acts xxvi. 10, 11. t lb. viii. 3. t lb. ix. 1, 2. 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 151 

" the brethren brought him down to Cesarea, and sent 
him. to Tarsus/'^ After this Paul, in company with 
Barnabas, preached the gospel in many cities and 
through a wide extent of country and with great suc- 
cess. Ultimately separating from Barnabas, and choos- 
ing Silas for his companion, " he went through Syria 
and CiUcia, confirming the churches.'^ Acts xv. 37 — 
41. His travels then in spreading the knowledge of 
Jesus Christ, became extensive in Asia and Europe, 
attended by the most laborious exertions, and constant 
and great dangers and sufferings ; so that in his epis- 
tle to the Romans, he could in truth say, "From 
Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have 
fully preached the gospel of Christ.^^t 

Of his labours and sufferings for his master, he has 
given an impressive sketch in his second epistle to the 
Corinthians. " Are they ministers of Christ ? (I 
speak as a fool,) I am more ; in labours more abun- 
dant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more fre- 
quent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received 
I forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with 
rods; once was I stoned; thrice I suffered shipwreck; 
a night and a day I have been in the deep ; ill jour- 
neyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, 
in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the 
heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilder- 
ness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false breth- 
ren ; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, 
in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and 
nakedness. Beside those things that which cometh 
upon me daily the care of all the churches.^^ J 

The spring of all these labours and sufferings, was 

* Acts ix. 20—30 ; xi. 25, 26 ; xv. 37—41. 

t Rom. XV. 19. t 2 Cor. xi. 23—28. 



152 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

the supreme and fervent love which this great apostle 
bore to Jesus Christ. The exalted views he enter- 
tained of Him will appear from his own writings. 
To the Hebrews he says, " Who being the brightness 
of his glory and the express image of his person, and 
upholding,'^ &c. To the Colossians he writes, '' Who 
is the Image of the invisible God, the first born of 
every creature,'^ by whom " were all things created, 
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and 
invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or 
principalities, or powers: all things v/ere created by 
him and for him : and he is before all things, and by 
him all things consist.^^ To the Philippians he says, 
" Who, being in the form of God, thought it not rob- 
bery to be equal with God.^^* 

Entertaining these views of Christ, he told the Co- 
rinthians, "I determined not to know any thing 
among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.'^ 
Writing to the Galatians, he exclaims, " God forbid 
that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and 
I unto the world.'^ " I am crucified with Christ : 
nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; 
and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by 
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave 
himself for me.'^t 

Entertaining such exalted views of Jesus Christ, he 
held that his glory ought to be the great end of all 
men: "For none of us,'' says he to the Romans, 
" liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For 
whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether 
we dicj we die unto the Lord : whether we live there- 

* Heb. i. 3. Col. i. 14, 17. Phil. ii. 6. 
1 1 Cor. ii. 2. Gal. vi. 14 ; ii. 20. 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 153 

fore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ 
both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be 
Lord, both of the dead and living.''"^ 

Inflamed with love to Christ, and zeal for his glory, 
nothing could divert this great man from the work to 
which he was called. Wealth could not allure, nor 
honour seduce, nor danger deter, nor sufl^erings with- 
draw him from his chosen course of obedience. " But 
what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for 
Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but 
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of 
all things, and do count them but dung, that I may 
win Christ.^'t Thus sustained by his love to Christ, 
he persevered, with unshaken constancy and unabat- 
ed diligence, in his apostolic work, till he could say at 
the close of life: "I am now ready to be offered, and 
the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought 
a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept 
the faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, 
shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but 
unto all them that love his appearing.'^J 

Such is the contrast between the two periods in the 
life of Paul. How remarkable ! How great ! His 
enmity to the Saviour was converted into the most 
affectionate and devoted love ; his determined opposi- 
tion to his cause into the warmest and most unwaver- 
ing attachment ; his bitter and malignant persecution 
of his followers into the most earnest, laborious, and 
persevering exertions to multiply them, both among 
the Jews and the Gentiles ! 

How shall we account for this singular change in 

* Rom. xiv. 7—9. f Phil. iii. 7—9. t 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8, 



154 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

the mind, heart, and conduct of this great man ? The 
cause must have been powerful. What was it? It 
is stated in the Acts of the Apostles. It Avas a sight 
of the Redeemer, and a conviction that He was alive 
from the dead, and reigning in ineffable glory. While 
Paul was on his persecuting errand to Damascus, 
" breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the 
disciples of the Lord,'' the Redeemer was pleased 
to reveal himself to his malignant enemy. A light 
from heaven, brighter than the sun, was thrown 
around him. " He fell to the earth, and heard a voice 
saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou 
me ? And he said. Who art thou. Lord ? And the 
Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest : it is 
hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he, 
trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do ? And the Lord said unto him. Arise, 
and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what 
thou must do.''* He went to the city; " and he was 
three days without sight, neither did he eat nor drink.'^ 
Ananias was sent to him, that he might receive his 
sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. He did re- 
ceive his sight, and was baptized. And being taught 
the gospel by the revelation of Jesus Christ, he was 
fully convinced that he was risen from the dead, and 
that he was the Son of God ; and, therefore, without 
conferring with flesh and blood, he began immediately 
to preach him as the Son of God, the long promised 
Messiah.t In his conviction that Christ was aUve and 
sitting at the right hand of God, Paul became still 
more and more assured by the success of his preach- 
ing, by the miracles he was enabled to work in the 

* Acts ix. 1—6; xxvi. 13. t lb. ix. 20; Gal. i. 11, 16. 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 155 

name of Christ,* by the abundant revelations made 
to him,t and by the abounding consolation he re- 
ceived from Christ.J 

In these circumstances, and having such overpow- 
ering evidence of the truth, it was impossible for 
Paul to doubt the resurrection of Jesus Christ, or that 
he was indeed the Son of God. Paul was no deluded 
fanatic ; he had a sound, well balanced mind. His 
whole life after his conversion proves this. On all 
occasions he acted with propriety, wisdom, and dig- 
nity. Does any one demand proof of this ? Let him 
read his reply to the message of the magistrates at 
Philippi, (Acts xvi. 37;) his address at Athens, (ch. 
xvii. 22 — 31 ;) his inquiry of the centurion when 
bound for examination by scourging, (ch. xxii. 25 ;) 
his declarations by which he divided the Jewish 
council, (ch. xxiii. 6 ;) his speech before Felix, (ch. 
xxiv. 10 — 21;) his subsequent reasoning before the 
same Roman governor, which made him tremble, (ch. 
xxiv. 24, 25 ;) his speech before king Agrippa, (ch. 
XX vi. 2 — 29 ;) and his noble address to the elders of 
the church of Ephesus ; " Ye know, from the first 
day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have 
been with you at all seasons ; serving the Lord Avith 
all humiUty of mind, and with many tears and temp- 
tations, which befel me by the lying in wait of the 
Jews: and how I kept back nothing that was profita- 
ble unto you, but have showed you, and taught you 
publicly,and from house to house, testifying both to the 
Jews, and also to the Gentiles, repentance toward 
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And 

*Actsxix. 11; Rom. XV. 18, 19. t 2 Cor. xii. 7. Ub i. 5. 



156 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

now, behold, I go bound in spirit to Jerusalem, not 
knowing the things that shall befal me there ; save 
that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying 
that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of 
these things move me, neither count I my life dear 
unto myself, so that I might finish my course with 
joy, and the ministry which I have received of the 
Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. 
And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom 
I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see 
my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record 
this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. 
For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the 
counsel of God.'^^ 

This great and benevolent man was beyond all 
question, fully convinced of the resurrection and exal- 
tation of the Lord Jesus Christ, and every one that 
considers the nature and the fulness of the evidence 
that wrought this conviction in his mind, and the 
proof that this evidence was afforded to him, must 
come to the same conclusion in regard to this great 
fact that lies at the foundation of our holy religion. 

Thus the resurrection of our Lord is proved by 
signs from heaven, — by the visions of angels, — by his 
various appearances to his disciples, — by the wonders 
of the day of Pentecost, and by the conversion of Paul 
the apostle. 

Against all this accumulated evidence, what have 
the Jews to offer ? The story which they bribed the 
Roman soldiers to circulate : " His disciples came by 
night, and stole him away while we slept. ''t Let us 
look at this story. The disciples of Christ forsook 

* Acts XX. 17—27. t Matthew xxviii. 11—15. 



RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 157 

nim and fled, when he was apprehended by his ene- 
mies ; yet these timid men had the boldness to go at 
night, to the sepulchre, which they knew to be shut 
up by a great stone, well secured and sealed, and 
guarded by a band of Roman soldiers; and, in their 
presence, break the seal, roll away the stone, and 
carry off the dead body of their Master ! The disci- 
ples did not understand what Jesus meant when he 
told them he would rise from the dead, nor did they 
expect this event ',^ yet they stole away the body of 
Jesus with a view to found upon the absence of his 
body from the sepulchre, a story of his resurrection ! 
It was death for a Roman soldier to sleep at his post, 
yet this Roman band were asleep ! They were 
asleep, and of course could neither see nor hear what 
was doing about them; yet they affirm the disciples 
came and stole away the body of Jesus ! How 
ridiculous the story ! It will not bear examination. 

It is conceded, that the body of Jesus, which had 
been laid in the sepulchre, was not there on the third 
day after his death. If his disciples had stolen it, the 
Jewish rulers, by searching the city, might have 
recovered, and reproduced it ; and thus convinced all 
that Jesus had not risen from the dead. Why was 
not this done ? How vain the attempts of men to 
frustrate the purposes of heaven ! Jesus is risen from 
the dead, and lives forevermore. 

This great fact might be also estabhshed by con- 
sidering the great and rapid success of the gospel, sub- 
sequent to the day of Pentecost, both among the Jews 
and among the Gentiles ; how a few unlettered men 
(one excepted) without power, without influence, 

* Luke xxiv. 21—24. 
14 



158 RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

without patronage, subdued Jewish prejudices and 
unbeUef, and Gentile scorn and idolatry, simply by 
publishing the story of the cross; although opposed 
by the influence of the Scribes and Pharisees, the wis- 
dom of philosophers, the malice of priests, and the 
authority and power of rulers. But we forbear. 



PAET II. 



In the first part, we have presented the argument in 
favour of the divine authority of the Bible, derived 
from a consideration of the plan adopted by God for 
communicating and preserving his revelation ; and 
from the miracles and the fulfilment of prophecies 
which the Bible records. In this part we shall exhi- 
bit the argument that can be derived, from a consider- 
ation of its interesting instructions in relation to God 
and man — from its moral code — from the great work 
of redemption — from the adaptation of the Bible to the 
wants and necessities of fallen man — and from its 
beneficial influence on his characte;: and happiness, 
and on human society. A careful examination of 
these points will prove the heavenly origin of this 
wonderful book. 



CHAPTER I. 

WHAT THE BIBLE T I: ACHES OF GOD. 

SECTION I. 

IT TEACHES THE UNITY OF GOD. 

Idolatry universally prevailed among all nations 
when Moses began to write his portion of the Bible. 
The chosen tribes of Israel were not free from this 
degrading and stupid sin. They were polluted and 



160 UNITY OP GOD. 

dishonoured by it, while dwelling in Egypt. So prone 
were they to fall into it, that, even at the foot of the 
sacred mount, after having beheld the awful and terri- 
fying displays of Jehovah's excellent majesty, and 
while their leader was holding intercourse with Him, 
and receiving the two tables engraven with the ten 
commandments, they most foolishly and wickedly 
committed this great offence. Every where our apos- 
tate race, surrounded as they were by the most mani- 
fest exhibitions of God's creating power, so as to leave 
without excuse all who did not see and acknowledge 
His eternal power and Godhead ; " becoming vain in 
their imaginations,'' and darkened in their foolish 
hearts, instead of glorifying God, "^ changed the glory 
of the incorruptible God into an image made like to 
corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, 
and creeping things." Yet in the midst of this uni- 
versal darkness and prevailing idolatry, Moses lifted 
up the lamp of truth to pour forth its heavenly light, 
and asserted and proclaimed the unity and glory of 
Jehovah. 

This great truth appears in the first sentence he 
wrote ; " hi the beginning God created the heavens 
and the earth." It is inculcated in all his writings. 
" Hear, Israel ; The Lord our God is one Lord." 
" Thou shalt have no other gods before me." " That 
thou mightest know that the Lord he is God ; and 
there is none else beside him."* All the sacred wri- 
ters proclaim the same great and fundamental truth. 
"Neither is there any God beside thee." " I am the 
first, and I am the last: and beside me there is no 
God." "Before me there was no God formed, neither 
shall there be after me." " Who is like unto thee, 

* Genesis i. 1. Deuteronomy vi. 4. Exodus xx. 3. Deuteronomy iv. 35. 



UNITY OF GOD. 161 

Lord, among the gods ? who is like thee, glorious in 
hohness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?'^ ^^0 
Lord God of Isaac, there is no god like thee in heaven 
above, or on the earth beneath.'^ '' Who in the heaven 
can be compared unto the Lord/^ " The Lord is the 
true God, he is the living God, and the everlasting 
King/' " The gods that have not made the heavens 
and the earth, shall perish from the earth and from 
under the heavens.'^ There is none other God but 
one.'' ^'To us there is one God and one Mediator.''* 
This is a brief specimen of the language of the Bible 
in reference to the unity of the Supreme Being. Most 
distinctly and harmoniously do all its writers concur 
in teaching this first and fundamental principle of all 
true religion. They pour contempt on idols, and lash 
idolaters with the severest and most deserved ridicule. 
How reasonable the instruction of the Bible on this 
point ! Does not the unity of God commend itself to 
enlightened reason ? There can be but one infinite 
mind, but one Supreme Being. The unity of design 
discoverable in creation, the order and harmony of the 
heavenly bodies in their courses, prove their Maker 
to be One Infinite Intelligence. And were not 
the writers of the Bible who inculcated this great 
truth, when men were so prone to abandon it, divinely 
inspired to enhghten a benighted world? If they 
were not, how shall their steady perseverance, for a 
long course of ages, in inculcating on the minds of 
their fellow-men, a truth, which their wicked hearts 
inchned them to reject, be accounted for? Why 
did they not like heathen philosophers, yield cornpli- 

* 2 Samuel vii. 22. Isaiah xliv. 6 ; xliii. 10. Exodus xv. 11. 
1 Kings viii. 23. Psalm Ixxxix. 6. Jeremiah x. 10, 11. 1 Corinthi- 
ans viii. 4. 1 Timothy ii. 5. 

14* 



162 UNITY OF GOD. 

ance with the prevailing idolatrous worship ? Why- 
did they boldly maintain the truth, and denounce 
against a people prone to run after idols the judgments 
of heaven ? Was not their magnanimous conduct 
proof that they were under a divine influence, while 
asserting the exclusive claims of Jehovah to the wor- 
ship of his people, and speaking in his name ? 

It is true we find inculcated in the Bible, the doc- 
trine of a Trinity; which is regarded by some as 
militating with the divine Unity. But this is owing 
to the erroneous views they take of the Trinity. By 
this doctrine is not meant that there are three Gods. 
Were this taught in the Bible, it would be irrecon- 
cilable with the unity of God. This however is not 
the doctrine of the sacred writers. By a Trinity they 
mean that there are three persons in one Godhead ; 
three modes of subsistence in one undivided divine 
essence. They do not teach that God is three and 
one in the same respect, but that he is three in one 
sense, and one in another sense. That there is in 
this doctrine a mystery, is readily admitted. We can- 
not comprehend it. But there is in it no contradic- 
tion. Were a contradiction involved in this doctrine, 
it could not be received by enlightened reason. But 
to a mystery disclosed in a divine revelation, no well 
informed mind can object ; because mysteries ought 
to be expected in such a communication from the 
infinite Being. They are found in the volume of 
nature ; they are the proper signatures of his incom- 
prehensible greatness and grandeur ! Does the first 
book which the Creator has opened for the instruc- 
tion of his intelligent creatures, contain truths which 
they cannot fully understand ? and would it not be 
unreasonable to expect that in another book, which 



PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 163 

he has given to teach us more of his incomprehensible 
nature, there should be found no mysteries, no truths 
which we cannot fully understand ? Mysteries, we 
repeat it, are the signatures of his incomprehensible 
greatness and grandeur. 



SECTION II. 

THE BIBLE TEACHES THE ETERNITY OF GOD. 

He is without beginning and without end. Had 
he begun to be, he would be dependent ; not the first 
being, and consequently not God. His eternity is 
celebrated in the sacred Scriptures. Jehovah, that 
glorious name by which he is distinguished from all 
creatures, and which they restrict to him, implies 
eternity. It imports that he is^ and always was, "I 
am that I am,^' is his adorable name. How sublime 
the language of the inspired writers ! " For thus 
saith the high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eter- 
nity.'' "The eternal God is thy refuge, and under- 
neath are the everlasting arms." " The everlasting 
God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, 
fainteth not, neither is weary." " Thus saith the 
Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord 
of hosts ; I am the first and the last." " A thousand 
years are in thy sight but as yesterday, when it is 
past, and as a watch in the night." " Thou art the 
same, and thy years shall not fail." " Now unto the 
king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise and 
true God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. 
Amen." "Who only hath immortality dwelling in 
the light which no man can approach unto ; whom no 
man hath seen, or can see : to whom be honour and 
power everlasting. Amen." " Before the mountains 



164 PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 

were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the 
earth or the world, even from everlasting to everlast- 
mg thou art God."* 

SECTION III. 

THE BIBLE TEACHES THE INDEPENDENT GREATNESS OF GOD. 

" Thine, Lord, is the greatness and the power, 
and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for 
all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine : 
thine is the kingdom, Lord, and thou art exalted as 
head above all.'^ ^^Who is so great a God as our 
God ?'^ " Lord, my God, thou art very great ; thou 
art clothed with honour and majesty." " Great is the 
Lord, and greatly to be praised ; his greatness is un- 
searchable." " Who hath measured the waters in the 
hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with a 
span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a 
measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and 
the hills in a balance } Who hath directed the Spirit 
of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, 
and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught 
him knowledge, and showed him the way of under- 
standing? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a 
bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the 
balance ; behold, he taketh up the isles as a very 
little thing. And Lebanon is not sujSicient to burn, 
nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. 
All nations before him are as nothing ; and they are 
counted to him less than nothing and vanity."t 

* Isaiah Ivii. 15. Deuteronomy xxxiiL 27- Isaiah xl. 28 ; xliv. 6, 
Psalm xc. 4 ; cii. 27. 1 Timothy i. 17 ; vi. 16. Psalm xc. 2. 
. 1 1 Chronicles xxix. 11. Psalm cxlv. 3. Isaiah xl. 12-17. 



PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 165 

SECTION IV. 

THE BIBLE TEACHES THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD. 

" Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens 
cannot contain thee.'^ "Am I a God at hand, saith 
the Lord; and not a God afar off? Do I not fill 
heaven and earth, saith the Lord ?'^ " Whither shall 
I go from thy Spirit, and whither shall I flee from thy 
presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ; 
if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I 
take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the utter- 
most parts of the sea : even there thy hand shall lead 
me, and thy right hand shall hold me.^^^ 

SECTION V. 

THE BIBLE TEACHES THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD. 

" The Lord looketh from heaven ; he beholdeth all 
the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he 
looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.^^ " His 
eyes behold the nations.^' " Lord, thou hast 
searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down 
sitting and mine up rising; thou understandest my 
thought afar off. Thou compasses! my path and my 
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 
For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, Lord, 
thou knowest it altogether. Such knowledge is too 
wonderful for me ; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 
If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me ; even the 
night shall be hght about me. Yea, the darkness 
hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day; 
the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.'^ 

* 1 Kings viii. 27. Psalm exxxix. 7 — 10. 



166 PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 

his servants; and his angels he charged with folly.^^ 
" The ways of man are before the Lord, and he pon- 
dereth all his goings/^ " The eyes of the Lord are in 
every place, beholding the evil and the good/^ " Can 
any hide himself in secret, that I shall not see him? 
saith the Lord/^ The Lord searcheth all hearts, and 
understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts/^ 
" Known unto God are all his works, from the begin- 
ning of the world/^ "Neither is there any creature 
that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are 
naked and open unto the eyes of him, with whom 
we have to do.'^ " The Lord is a God of knowledge, 
and by him actions are weighed.'^ "He is perfect in 
knowledge/^ " His understanding is infinite.^^* 



SECTION VI. 

THE BIBLE ASCRIBES TO GOD INFINITE WISDOM, ALMIGHTY POWER, BOUND- 
LESS GOODNESS, INFLEXIBLE JUSTICE, UNDEVlATlNG TRUTH, UNWAVER- 
ING FAITHFULNESS, IMMEASURABLE MERCY, THE RICHEST GRACE, SPOT- 
LESS PURITY, AND GLORIOUS HOLINESS. 

To quote all the passages referring to these attri- 
butes would be tedious indeed. They are scattered 
over the Bible ; and no one can read the sacred Scrip- 
tures with attention, without observing how the sacred 
writers celebrate them. Let it be noted how they 
dwell upon the hohness of God. He is every where 
denominated, " The Holy one of Israel ;'' and repre- 
sented as being incomparably pure. " Shall mortal 
man be more just than God ? shall a man be more 
pure than his maker ? Behold he putteth no trust in 

* Psalm xxxiii. 13, 14; Ixvi. 7 ; cxxxix. 1 — 6, II, 12; Proverbs v. 
21 ; XV. 3. Jeremiah xxiii. 24. 1 Chronicles xxviii. 9. Acts xv. 18. 
Hebrew iv. 13. 1 Samuel ii. 3. Psalm cxlvii. 5. 



PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 167 

"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst 
not look on iniquity/^ "And one cried to another, 
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts: the whole 
earth is full of his glory. Then said I, Wo is me ! 
for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean 
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean 
lips ; for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of 
hosts. '^* 

Moreover, it is to be remembered, that Jehovah is 
infinite and unchangeable in these and in all his per- 
fections. "I am the Lord, I change not.^^ " Every 
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and 
Cometh down from the Father of hghts, with whom is 
no variableness, neither shadow of turning.''t 

Such are the glorious perfections which the Bible 
ascribes to God. Does not the mind of the reader see 
that they belong to the Supreme Being ? Such too is 
the mode which the sacred writers have adopted for 
exhibiting them, and such a specimen of the language 
they use in speaking of them. Could a fitter mode 
be chosen for giving us a view of Jehovah's adorable 
perfections, or better language used for their appro- 
priate exhibition ? 

The relations which God sustains to his creatures, 
are distinctly and fully set before us in the Bible, 

SECTION VII. 

GOD IS REVEALED TO US AS THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. 

Heathen philosophers greatly erred in regard to the 
origin of the world. Some attributed its production 

* Job iv. 17, 18. Hab. i. 13. Isaiah vi. 3, 5. 
t Malachi iii. 6. James i. 17. 



168 PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 

to a fortuitous concourse of atoms that had existed 
from eternity; as if chance, which never built a 
house, nor composed a book, could produce a world, 
in which are found displays of design, intelligence 
and wisdom, infinitely greater than can be found in 
the most finished writings of man, or in the most 
splendid and magnificent palace that ever adorned the 
earth. Others maintained the world to be eternal ; 
and thus contended for a position disproved by their 
daily experience, by every change of wind, and by 
the innumerable mutations that are incessantly occur- 
ing in the world. What is eternal must be unchange- 
able. Had the world been eternal, and subject to its 
present changes, the highest mountains would have 
been levelled millions of ages past ; the sun would 
have expended his beams of light, and darkness would 
have thrown over this habitation of man the pall of 
midnight. 

The sacred writers teach a sounder doctrine ; a dco- 
trine which commends itself to the human mind. 
They exhibit a cause fully adequate to the mighty 
work. They proclaim the infinite Jehovah as the 
Creator of the universe ; as calling it into existence 
with infinite ease. " He spake, and it was done ; he 
commanded, and it stood fast.'^* ^^He created all 
things by the word of his power.^^ With what sim- 
plicity and sublimity does Moses speak on this sub- 
ject ! " And God said, Let there be light, and there 
was light. And God said, Let there be a firmament 
in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters 
from the waters. And God made the firmament, and 
divided the waters which were under the firmament 
from the waters which were above the firmament : 

*Psalm xxxiii. 9. 



RELATIONS OF GOD. 169 

and it was so. And God said, Let there be lights in 
the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from 
the night ; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, 
and for days and years : and let them be for lights in 
the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the 
earth : and it was so. He made the stars also.^^* In 
like manner speak the other sacred writers. " Thou, 
even thou, art Lord alone ; thou hast made heaven, 
the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, 
and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is 
therein; and thou preservest them all ; and the host 
of heaven worshippeth thee.^'t " Lift up yoxu' eyes on 
high, and behold, who hath created these things, that 
bringeth out their host by number : he calleth them all 
by names, by the greatness of his might ; for that he 
is strong in power: not one faileth.'^J "Thou art 
worthy, Lord, to receive glory and honour, and 
power : for thou hast created all things, and for thy 
pleasme they are and were created. ''§ 



SECTION VIII. 

GOD IS REPRESENTED IN THE BIBLE AS THE PRESERVER AND BENEFACTOR 
OF ALL HIS CREATURES. 

He upholds all things. " The earth and all the inha- 
bitants thereof are dissolved : I bear up the pillars of 
it.'^ " Upholding all things by the word of his 
power.'' "By him all things consist.'^ "For in him 
we live, and move, and have our being."|| 

The liberal provision which God has made to sup- 
ply the wants of all his creatures, and his great kind- 

* Genesis i. 3, 6, 7, 14, 15. t Isaiah xl. 26, 

t Nehemiah ix. 6. § Rev. iv. 11. 

11 Ps. Ixxv. 3. Heb. i. 3. Col. i. 17. Acts xvii. 28. 

15 



170 RELATIONS OF GOD. 

ness towards them are set forth in sacred scripture 
with inimitable beauty. '' Sing unto the Lord with 
thanksgiving ; sing praise upon the harp unto God : 
who covereth the heavens with clouds, who prepareth 
rain for the earth, who maketh the grass to grow upon 
the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and 
to the young ravens which cry.^^ " These all wait 
upon thee ; that thou mayest give them their meat in 
due season. That thou givest them they gather : thou 
openest thy hand, they are filled with good.^^ " ! 
that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and 
for his wonderful works to the children of men." 
^^ How excellent is thy loving-kindness, God ! there- 
fore the children of men put their trust under the sha- 
dow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satis- 
fied with the fatness of thy house ; and thou shalt 
make them drink of the river of thy pleasure. For 
with thee is the fountain of life : in thy light shall we 
see light." '' Consider the ravens : for they neither 
sow, nor reap ; which have neither store-house, nor 
barn ; and God feedeth them : how much more are 
ye better than the fowls ? And which of you by 
taking thought can add to his stature one cubit ? If ye 
then be not able to do that thing which is least, why 
take ye thought for the rest ? Consider the lilies how 
they grow ; they toil not, they spin not ; and yet I say 
unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not ar- 
rayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the 
grass, which is to day in the field, and to-morrow is 
cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe 
you, ye of little faith ? And seek not ye what ye 
shall eat, and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of 
doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations 
seek after : and your Father knoweth that ye have 



RELATIONS OF GOD. 171 

need of these things. But rather seek ye the king- 
dom of God ; and all these things shall be added unto 
you.^^* 

SECTION IX. 

GOD IS EXHIBITED TO US IN THE SACRED SCRIPTURES AS THE SOVEREIGN 
AND ALMIGHTY RULER OF THE UNIVERSE. 

With what sublimity is his government described 
by the inspired writers ! " The Lord hath prepared 
his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over 
all.'^ " Thy throne, God, is for ever and ever ; the 
sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.'^ " Clouds 
and darkness are round about him ; righteousness and 
judgment are the habitation of his throne.^^ "And 
I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured 
Him that liveth for ever 5 whose dominion is an ever- 
lasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation 
to generation : and all the inhabitants of the earth are 
reputed as nothing : and he doeth according to his 
will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabit- 
ants of the earth : and none can stay his hand, or say 
unto him. What doest thou ?''t With what contempt 
does God treat the insolence of the proud, blasphem- 
ing king of Assyria; and with what perfect ease does 
he defeat his impious designs ! " Because thy rage 
against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, 
therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my 
bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the 
way by which thou earnest. Then the angel of the 
Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the As- 
syrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand : 

* Ps. cxlvii. 7-9 ; civ. 27, 28 ; cvii. 8 ; xxxvi. 7-9. Luke xii. 24-30. 
t Psalm ciii. 19; xlv. 6; xcvii. 2. Daniel iv. 34, 35. 



172 RELATIONS OF GOD. 

and when they arose in the morning, behold, they 
were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of As- 
syria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at 
Nineveh.^^* 



SECTION X. 

GOD IS PROCLAIMED BY THE SACRED WRITERS AS THE FINAL JUDGE OF 
THE WORLD. 

In this great truth the human mind finds relief from 
the perplexities that are sometimes excited by con- 
templating the providence of God over the world, 
and the unequal distribution of rewards and punish- 
ments. Looking to a future judgment the Christian 
can account for the present prosperity of the wicked, 
and the present adversity of the righteous. Unbehef 
may say, God has forsaken the earth ; he does not mind 
the affairs of men : but faith can affirm the consoling 
truth, "The Lord reigneth;'' and, looking forward to 
a future judgment, see order rising out of confusion, 
and Hght out of darkness. 

How plain and decisive the language of the Bible 
in asserting the great truth of a future judgment ! " I 
the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even 
to give to every man according to his ways, and ac- 
cording to the fruit of his doing.'^ " And the times 
of this ignorance God winked at ; but now com- 
mandeth all men every where to repent : because he 
hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the 
world in righteousness by that man whom he hath 
ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all 
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.^^ 
" When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and 

* Isaiah xxxvii. 29, 36, 37. 



RELATIONS OF GOD. 173 

all the holy angels with him, then shall lie sit upon 
the throne of his glory : and before him shall be ga- 
thered all nations ; and he shall separate them one 
from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from 
the goats.^^ " For we must all appear before the 
judgment seat of Christ ; that every one may receive 
the things done in the body, according to that which 
he hath done, whether it be good or bad.'^ " There- 
fore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord 
come, who will bring to light the hidden things of 
darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the 
heart/^ " And I saw the dead, both small and great, 
stand before God ; and the books were opened : and 
another book was opened, which is the book of life : 
and the dead were judged out of those things which 
were written in the books, according to their works/' 
" Then shall the king say unto them on his right 
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world. Then shall he say unto them on his left hand, 
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels. And these shall 
go into everlasting punishment ; but the righteous into 
life eternal.''^ 

Such is God according to the Bible ; these, his per- 
fections, and these, the relations he sustains to his 
creatures. He is the eternal, independent, immense, 
every where present, omniscient, and almighty Being; 
infinitely wise and good, righteous and holy, true and 
faithful, merciful, gracious and forgiving : in a word, 
infinitely great^ good, and glorious ; unchangeable in 
his being and perfections, in his purposes, happiness, 

* Jer. xvii. 10. Acts xvii. 30, 31. Matt. xxv. 31, 32. 2 Cor. v. 10. 
ICor. iv.5. Rev. XX. 12. Matt. xxv. 34, 41, 46. 

15* 



174 RELATIONS OF GOD. 

and glory. He is the Almighty Creator of heaveti 
and earth, who spake the universe into existence ; he 
upholds by his power all worlds, supplies from his 
bounty the wants of every creature ; he inspects and 
controls the conduct of men, and overrules all their 
actions; he will, in the last day, judge the whole 
human race, bestow on the righteous everlasting life, 
but condemn the wicked to everlasting misery. What 
an awful, glorious, lovely Being ! How worthy of 
the praise, and love, and obedience of all intelligent 
creatures ! Must not every reasonable mind assent 
to all this as true ? Does it not accord with the judg- 
ment of our understanding, just as the light does with 
the eye ? Does not this exhibition of the character, 
perfections, and relations of God, carry with it its 
own and irresistible evidence ? Is it not seen, in its 
own light, to be true ? 

SECTION XL 

MANNER OF THE SACRED WRITERS. 

The manner in which the sacred writers have 
delivered their instructions, is worthy of particular 
consideration. No doubt, no hesitancy appears in it. 
They speak with perfect confidence, as men fully 
assured that they are speaking the truth. How is 
this phenomenon to be accounted for ? By whom 
were these men instructed? Who taught them to 
speak of God in a way so becoming his infinite 
majesty ? Not the learning of the day. When 
Moses and the prophets wrote, when Paul and the 
Apostles preached, the world was full of error in 
regard to religion. Idolatry prevailed among all 
nations, except the Hebrews; and they frequently 



HISTORY OF MAN. 175 

were guilty of this stupid sin. The true knowledge 
of God had become nearly extinct. Yet these men, 
who lived among a people, not remarkable for science 
or literature, have, in opposition to prevaiHng errors, 
written of God and his perfections, of his works and 
government, in a way far surpassing the writings of 
the wisest and most celebrated heathen philosophers. 
How shall this be explained? How can it be ex- 
plained, but by referring to the true source of wisdom, 
by believing they were taught of God, and wrote 
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost ? Must not 
the book which contains such heavenly and neces- 
sary instructions be divine ? Is it not the gift of God ? 



CHAPTER H. 

WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES OF MAN. 

The Bible furnishes us with his natural, moral, and 
future history. 

SECTION 1. 

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF MAN. 

By Moses we are taught that, on the sixth day it 
pleased God to create out of the dust of the ground 
the first human pair, and that he breathed into them 
the breath of life ; that this happy and innocent pair 
were placed in paradise, a garden planted by the 
Lord with every tree and shrub that could beautify 
and adorn it ; that they lived in this delightful garden, 
till they were expelled from it, on account of their siu 



176 HISTORY OF MAN. 

in eating the forbidden fruit ; and that from this one 
pair have sprung all the nations of the world, and 
every human being. Cain and Abel were their first 
two sons. Provoked by envy at the divine approba- 
tion of his brother's offering, Cain slew his righteous 
brother, and brought on himself the curse of the 
Almighty. Of this murder the sacred historian gives 
some account, and traces his descendants through 
several generations. In place of Abel was born 
Seth, whose posterity is specially noticed down to 
the time of Noah ; when God, in his just wrath at 
the apostasy and prevailing wickedness of the human 
race, brought upon the world a universal deluge; 
which destroyed the whole race of man, with the 
exception of Noah and his family. Noah became the 
great progenitor of the post-diluvian race. 

By his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, was 
the world, after the flood, peopled. In the tenth 
chapter of Genesis, Moses has given an account of 
their descendants ; from which learned men have, with 
much probability, shown what portions of the earth 
were occupied by the different branches of Noah's 
family. Paul, in his address to the Athenians, aflirms 
that " God hath made of one blood all the nations of 
men for to dwell on all the face of the earth."* 

Is not this natural history of man true ? Who can 
disprove it ? Will difference in colour be urged as an 
objection against the unity of the human family? 
This difference, which is only external, can be ac- 
counted for by the effects of climate, habits of living, 
and other causes. But if adequate causes could not 
be assigned, the common origin of our race ought not 
to be questioned ; when we consider how alike all 

*Actsxvii. 26. 



HISTORY OF MAN. 177 

men are in the structure of their bodies, in the facul- 
ties of their minds, in their moral constitution, and in 
all essential points. 

SECTION II. 

THE BIBLE CONTAINS THE MORAL HISTORY OF MAN. 

Man was, at his first creation, a perfect creature, 
adorned with the moral image of his Creator ; perfect- 
ly free from sin, disposed and able to do the will of 
God. With this holy creature, enriched with heavenly 
endowments, and formed for immortality, the Most 
High condescended to enter into a covenant ; promis- 
ing life to obedience, and threatening death to disobe- 
dience. But endowed as he was with ample ability 
to keep the divine law, and prompted by the most 
powerful motives to obedience, he was, by the arti- 
fices of Satan, seduced to eat of the forbidden fruit, 
and thus to transgress the divine law, to the ruin of 
himself and all his posterity.^ 

Here is the origin of all the sin and misery in the 
world. All may be traced to the first sin of man in 
paradise. That sin opened a deluge of wickedness 
and misery, that has never ceased to roll onward its 
destructive waves. " By one man,'^ says Paul, " sin 
entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death 
passed upon all men ; for that all have sinned. By 
the offence of one judgment came upon all men to 
condemnation. By one man^s disobedience many 
were made sinners.^'t The sacred writers represent 
our fallen race as being exceedingly depraved. " And 

* See the first three chapters in Genesis. f Rom. v. 12, 18, 19. 



178 HISTOKY OF MAN. 

God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the 
earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of 
his heart was only evil continually.^^ " The carnal 
mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject to 
the law of God, neither indeed can be.'^ '' You hath 
he quickened, who were dead in tresspasses and 
sins.''* 

Is not this moral history of man true ? Does it not 
commend itself to the rejfiecting mind ? Here is given 
a rational account of the universal prevalence of de- 
pravity in the world. The fact that all men are sin- 
ners is undeniable ; and the universality of the disease 
shows it must have some common origin. But what 
that origin was, the wisdom of the w^orld could not 
discover. Philosophers speculated about it in vain. 
They were as ignorant in this matter as the common 
people. But Moses and other writers of the Bible 
have revealed the sad, but interesting truth. They 
have traced up the universal depravity of men, of all 
ages, to one common source, the apostasy of the first 
man, the father of the human race. This explains 
facts, which, without this information, could not be 
explained. This accounts for the early evidences of 
depravity seen in the temper and conduct of children, 
prior to the time when they feel the influence of ex- 
ample; and for the fact that infants suffer pain, sick- 
ness, and death. " Nevertheless death reigned from 
Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned 
after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is 
the figure of him that was to come."t 

* Genesis vi. 5 ; Romans viii. 7 ; Ephesians ii. 1. 
t Romans v. 14, 



HISTORY OF MAN. 179 

SECTION III. 

THE BIBLE HAS ALSO FURNISHED US WITH THE FUTURE HISTORY OF 
OUR RACE. 

The Bible teaches distmctly that man is immortal ; 
that his spirit will survive the stroke of death, by 
which the body is deprived of life and reduced to its 
original elements, dust and ashes ; that we shall exist, 
after death, in a state of happiness or misery, accord- 
ing to our conduct in the present life; that the dead 
will be raised in the last day, and all mankind be 
summoned to appear before the bar of God, to undergo 
a strict and impartial judgment; and that the right- 
eous will be adjudged to everlasting blessedness and 
glory, and the wicked condemned to everlasting 
shame and misery. That this doctrine is exceedingly 
interesting, can be denied by no sober and reflecting 
man. And is it not true, as well as interesting ? 
None will venture to contradict it, but men whose 
guilt dreads the thought of a future states and whose 
crimes induce them to wish to lose their existence in 
the grave. Immortality accords with the nature of 
man and the attributes of his Creator. Is it not 
reasonable to believe that a creature endowed with 
such noble faculties, so capable of constant and pro- 
gressive improvement, was designed to exist for a 
much longer period than he is permitted to spend in 
this world ? Is it not reasonable to believe that the 
righteous Sovereign of the universe will hereafter cor- 
rect the apparent disorders prevalent in this distant 
province of his universal empire, by a future judg- 
ment, when he will give to every man his due; when 
the proud oppressor will be put down, and the hum- 
ble and pious Christian freed from his cruel oppres- 



180 HISTORY OP MAN. 

sion, and exalted in honour? To the truth of this 
has not every man a witness in himself? What but 
a judgment to come does conscience indicate, when it 
rebukes the midnight transgressor, and makes him 
tremble, when he commits in secret and in darkness 
a sin that has been witnessed by no human eye ? Is 
not the impression of this belief on the public and 
popular mind, a matter of the first importance to the 
welfare and stability of human society? What can 
be a better defence against the prevalence of destruc- 
tive crimes, and a more powerful inducement to the 
practice of every virtue ? Extinguish this belief, and 
what will human laws avail to secure the rights of 
the weak against invasion, injustice, violence, and 
wickedness ? 

An indistinct impression of a future state of rewards 
and punishments, was always prevalent, more or less, 
among the heathen. Their poets sung of such a state, 
and their philosophers reasoned on the subject, with 
doubtful and wavering arguments. But the sacred 
writers speak on the subject with the confidence of 
men assured they were uttering the truth. They use 
no feeble arguments; no doubt is discoverable in their 
writings. They speak as eye and ear witnesses de- 
liver their testimony. Hear their language. "Let 
not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God, believe 
also in me. In my Father's house are many man- 
sions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I go 
to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare 
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you 
to myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.'' 
'^ For our hght affliction, which is but for a moment, 
worketh for us a far more exceedhig and eternal 
weight of glory: while we look not at the things 



HISTORY OF MAN. 181 

which are seen, but at the things which are not seen : 
for the things which are seen are temporal; but the 
things which are not seen are eternal. For we know 
that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dis- 
solved, we have a building of God, an house not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we 
groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our 
house which is from heaven: if so be that being 
clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that 
are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not 
for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, 
that mortality might be swallowed up of life.^^ '' I 
have fought a good fight; I have kept the faith. 
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right- 
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will 
give to me in that day; and not to me only, but to all 
them that love his appearing.'^ " For if we believe 
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also 
which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. For 
this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that 
we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of 
the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with 
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the 
trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught 
up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord 
in the air: and so shall we be ever with the Lord.^^ 
^' But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the 
night ; in the which the heavens shall pass away with 
a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent 
heat ; the earth also and the works that are therein 
shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things 
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye 

16 



182 HISTORY OF MAN. 

to be ill all holy conversation and godliness ; looking 
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, 
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, 
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for 
new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth 
righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye 
look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found 
of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.'^ " Be- 
hold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but 
we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twink- 
ling of an eye, at the last trump : for the trumpet shall 
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and 
we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put 
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immor- 
tality. So when this corruptible shall have put on 
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on im- 
mortality; then shall be brought to pass the saying 
that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory. 
death, where is thy sting ? grave, where is thy 
victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength 
of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth 
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'^* 



SECTION IV. 

INSPIRATION OF THE SACRED WRITERS. 

From these quotations it is apparent how much at 
home the sacred writers are, when speaking of future 
and eternal things. They speak of them as of things 
with which they are familiarly acquainted. No 

* John xiv. 1-3. 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18 ; v. 1-4. 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. 1 Thess. 
iv. 14-17. 2 Pet. m. 10-14. 1 Cor.xv. 51-57. 



HISTORY OF MAN. 183 

doubt, no hesitancy rests upon their minds. They 
speak what they know. They are fully assured of 
the truth. Whence did they gain this knowledge 
and full conviction ? Not from the writings of hea- 
then philosophers. Sach knowledge could not be 
found in their schools. Philosophers needed to be 
taught these great truths, as much as the common 
people. Nor did they derive their information from 
the Jewish schools ; for they never studied in them. 
Paul indeed was a pupil of the celebrated Gamaliel; 
and from him he may have learned a future state of 
rewards and punishments ; for it was taught in the 
writings of Moses and the prophets. But the light 
which he and his fellow apostles threw around the 
things of a future world, was far superior to that 
which Moses and the prophets had imparted to the 
ancient church. Whence then did they derive this 
superior light ? Who made these illiterate men wiser 
than heathen philosophers, and wiser than all the 
teachers who had ever gone before them? How is 
this phenomenon to be solved.^ Were not these men 
taught from above } How could they speak of hea- 
venly and eternal things, with such propriety, con- 
fidence, and dignity, if they had not been inspired 
with heavenly wisdom? Inspiration from above they 
claimed ; and do not their invaluable writings fully 
sustain the truth of their claim ? 



r 



184 MORAL CODE. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE MORAL CODE OF THE BIBLE. 

The moral code contained in the Bible^ furnishes 
evidence of its inspiration and decisive authority. 

It bears the impress of its heavenly origin. So ex- 
cellent, so reasonable, so pure, so holy, so spiritual, so 
perfect is it, that it could have proceeded only from 
infinite wisdom and goodness. Human minds, blind- 
ed, depraved, and prejudiced as they are by sin, could 
not be the authors of such a system of morals. That 
the reader may be convinced of this, we shall lead 
him to examine the moral code of the Bible, under 
the following heads. 

SECTION I. 

THE SUMMARIES OF DUTY FOUND IN THE BIBLE. 

The first we meet with in reading the Scriptures, 
is, the ten commandments ; which the Bible affirms 
were engraven on two tables of stone by the finger of 
God, and delivered by Moses to the children of Israel. 
The first table contained the duties we owe to God ; 
and the second, the duties we owe to our fellow crea- 
tures. Short as these commandments are, they are 
exceedingly comprehensive. They embrace the whole 
round of duty. 

That they are to be explained in the utmost lati- 
tude, is manifest from the nature of man, from the last 
commandment, which prohibits covetousness, and 
especially from the consideration that they prescribe 



MORAL CODE. 185 

the duties we owe to a Being of infinite knowledge 
and purity. Besides, the Bible teaches us thus to in- 
terpret the law. " Ye have heard that it was said by 
them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery; 
but 1 say unto you. That whosoever looketh on a 
woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with 
her already in his heart.'^ " Whosoever hateth his 
brother is a murderer.^^* How admirable this sum- 
mary of duty ! Nothing like it can be found in all 
the writings of heathen philosophers. 

A still shorter summary is pointed out by our great 
teacher, Jesus Christ. Being asked by a Jewish 
lawyer, " Which is the great commandment, in the 
law ?'^ he replied, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 
thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. 
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy 
neighbour as thyself On these two commandments 
hang all the law and the prophets/^t These two 
precepts comprehend, beyond doubt, every human 
obligation and duty. From such love in the heart, 
every act of duty to God and man, would as certainly 
follow, as a pure stream would flow from a full and 
pure fountain. No man can love God in this perfect 
manner, and refuse to do any thing he requires. He 
would delight to do his whole will. And equally 
certain is it, that he would, under the influence of such 
love to God, love his neighbour as himself: and lov- 
ing his neighbour in this perfect manner, he would 
abstain from doing him any injury, and cheerfully 
render to him whatever was due. The obedience 
which God demands is the obedience of love. It must 
spring from love. Love is the life and soul of obe- 

* Matt. V. 27, 28. 1 John iii. 15. t Matt. xxii. 36-40. 

16^ 



186 MORAL CODE. 

dience. Destitute of this animating principle, all ex- 
ternal acts of homage, how correct and beautiful 
soever they may appear, are like a lifeless corpse. 

Does not this summary of duty commend itself to 
every human mind ? Is it not seen, in its own light, 
to be perfectly reasonable? Who can deny that we 
ought, in this manner to love infinite excellence and 
loveliness ? Who can refuse to admit the justice of 
the precept that requires us to love as ourselves our 
neighbour, who is '' bone of our bone, and flesh of 
our flesh V^ To find in the volumes of pagan philo- 
sophers any thing comparable to this summary of 
moral duty, would be a vain attempt. 

The Saviour^s golden rule has been justly admired: 
'- All things whatsoever ye would that men should 
do to you, do ye even so to them.^^* It sheds light to 
dispel the illusions of selfishness, and brings convic- 
tion to the conscience. What a cluster of duties, most 
attractively exhibited, do we see in that passage of 
Paul: '^ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, 
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are 
just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things 
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if 
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think 
on these things.^'t 

SECTION II. 

THE DETAILS OF DUTY. 

In respect to God there are particular precepts re- 
quiring us to fear, to seek, to reverence, and to wor- 
ship him ; to believe, to trust, to hope, to delight, and 
to rejoice in him ; to honour, to obey, and to glorify 

*Matt,vii. 12. tPhiliv.a 



MORAL CODE. 187 

him. In respect to ourselves there are precepts en- 
johnng temperance in eating and drinking, chastity 
and purity, contentment with our condition, activity 
and industry, meekness and humiUty, resignation, pa- 
tience and fortitude. In respect to others the precepts of 
the Bible require us to love all men, without excepting 
our enemies ; to be honest in all our dealings ; to be 
just in every transaction ; to live in peace with all 
men, as far as it may be possible ; to be merciful to- 
wards the unfortunate, giving alms to the poor, and 
relieving the oppressed ; to be gentle in our deport- 
ment ; to love our enemies, and to forgive them, to 
pray for and do them good ; and to let our light shine 
before others, that they may be incited to imitate our 
example, and constrained to glorify God. 

These and a variety of other duties are inculcated 
in the sacred Scriptures. The duties, too, growing 
out of the different relations of life ; such as the re- 
lation between husband and wife, parents and chil- 
dren, masters and servants, pastors and people, rulers 
and citizens, are all particularly specified. But to ex- 
hibit in quotations all the duties referred to, would re- 
quire a transcription of a large portion of the Bible. 

Mark the wisdom manifested in this moral code. 
The summaries of duty can be easily committed to 
memory, without burdening it ; while the copious de- 
tails in the various branches of moral obligation, serve 
to explain the meaning of the summaries, and to as- 
sist us in applying the general rules to particular cases 
as they rise in life. 



188 SPIRITUALITY OF 

SECTION III. 

THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF THE MORAL CODE. 

The Bible does not overlook external conduct. It 
prescribes rules for the due government of our out- 
ward actions, and requires their submission to divine 
authority. " Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mor- 
tal bodies, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of un- 
righteousness unto sin : but yield yourselves unto 
God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your 
members as instruments of righteousness unto God.'^* 
Outward actions are an index to the inward temper. 
" Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak- 
eth.^^t But external conduct will not satisfy the 
claims of the divine law. It is inadequate to meet 
its demands ; and it may be deceptive. A man may 
give alms to be seen of men ; or he may pretend 
great compassion for the needy and distressed ; he 
may say, "Be ye warmed, and filled,^' but with- 
hold the necessary food and clothing. Here that cor- 
respondence between the state of the heart and the 
outward actions, which the divine law requires, is 
broken. The Bible connects principle and conduct 
together, and insists on the obedience of both. It de- 
mands a pure heart and a holy life. But it insists 
chiefly on the former. In the religion of the Bible, 
the heart is every thing. The great claim which God 
prefers is this : " My son, give me thine heart. '^ While 
this is withheld no offering can be acceptable. " There- 
fore also now, saith the Lord, Turn ye even unto me 
with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weep- 

* Rom. vi. 12, 13. t Matt. xii. 34. 



THE MORAL CODE. 189 

ing, and with mourning : and rend your heart, and not 
your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God : 
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of 
great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." " The 
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a 
contrite heart, God, thou wilt not despise." " Now 
the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure 
heart,andof a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." 
" Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord ? or who 
shall stand in his holy place ? He that hath clean 
hands and a pure heart." " Blessed are the pure in 
heart for they shall see God."* Such importance 
does the Bible attach to the obedience of the heart. 
It is the altar that sanctifies the gift. Without it no 
homage, however profound, no sacrifice how costly 
soever, no faith however strong, can avail to obtain 
divine approbation. With what force and energy 
does Paul assert this truth ! Love, in his view, has 
preeminence over every other grace. He shows 
it to be essential to the Christian character. " Though 
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and 
have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or 
a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of 
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all know- 
ledge ; and though I have all faith, so that I could re- 
move mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, 
and though I give my body to be burned, and have 
not charity, it profiteth me nothing." And then after 
a beautiful description of charity (love), the apostle 
adds, " And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these 

* Proverbs xxiii. 26. Joel ii. 12, 13. Psalm li. 17. 1 Tim. i. 5. 
Psalm xxiv. 3, 4. Matt. v. 8. 



190 PERFECTION OF 

three ; but the greatest of these is charity.''* In 
what system of morals framed by human wisdom, 
will you find such preeminence given to the heart ? 
Men, untaught by the Spirit of God, turn away from 
the true spring of obedience ; and instead of labour- 
ing to purify the spring, spend their efforts in endea- 
vouring to cleanse the streams. They assign the pre- 
eminence to manners and outward behaviour. Like 
the Pharisees of old they wash " the outside of the 
cup and of the platter," and pay but little or no atten- 
tion to the defilements within. The obvious truth 
stated by our Lord is overlooked : " A good man out 
of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good 
things ; and an evil man out of the evil treasure, 
bringeth forth evil things.'^t As the Bible traces all 
obedience to the heart, so it traces all disobedience to 
the same source : " Out of the heart proceed,'' says 
the great teacher, "evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, 
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." The 
heart forms, in the eye of God, the character of every 
man. " Man looketh on the outward appearance, 
but the Lord looketh on the heart." " All the ways 
of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord 
weigheth the spirits." " And all the churches shall 
know that I am he that searcheth the reins and 
hearts ; and I will give to everyone of you according 
to your works."t 

SECTION IV. 

THE PERFECTION OF THE BIBLE's MORAL CODE. 

No commutation of one duty for another is allow- 
ed. To Saul who alleged he had obeyed the voice of 

* 1 Cor. xiii. 1-3. 13. t Matt. xii. 35 ; xv. 19. 

X 1 Sam. xvi. 7. Prov. xvi. 2. Rev. ii. 23. 



THE MORAL CODE. 191 

the Lord, Samuel replied, " Hath the Lord as great 
delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying 
the voice of the Lord ? Behold, to obey is better than 
sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For 
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness 
is as iniquity and idolatry.'^ With what indignant 
language did God rebuke his people by Isaiah his 
servant? "To what purpose is the multitude of your 
sacrifices unto me ? sailh the Lord. I am full of the 
burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts ; and 
I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or 
of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, 
who hath required this at your hands, to tread my 
courts ? Bring no more vain oblations ; incense is an 
abomination unto me ; the new moons and sabbaths, 
the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with ; it is 
iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons 
and your appointed feasts my soul hateth : they are a 
trouble unto me ; I am weary to bear them. And 
when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine 
eyes from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers, I 
will not hear : your hands are full of blood. Wash 
you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your 
doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn 
to do well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, 
judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. ^^ How did 
our Saviour detect and expose the hypocrites of his 
day! "Wo unto you scribes and pharisees, hypo- 
crites ! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cum- 
min, and have omitted the weightier matters of the 
law, judgment, mercy, and faith; these ought ye to 
have done, and not to leave the other undone. ^^* 
No partial obedience that excepts to any precept, 

* 1 Sam. XV. 22, 23. Isaiah i. 11-15. Matt, xxiii. 23. 



192 PERFECTION OF 

can obtain divine approbation. " If/^ said David, '' I 
regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear 
me/^ The Pharisee went to the temple to pray, and 
boasted of his goodness: '' God, I thank thee that I 
am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adul- 
terers, or even as this pubhcan. I fast twice in the 
week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'' Proud in 
spirit, his prayers were not regarded. " Then,'' says 
David, " shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect 
unto all thy commandments." And by the Apostle 
James it is laid down as an adjudged case in our 
religion: "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, 
and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." The 
meaning is, he who allows himself habitually to break 
one precept, breaks the whole law, of which it is an 
essential part ; just as the man who wounds my hand, 
inflicts a wound upon my whole body, of which my 
hand is a member. He comes under the curse, by 
which the whole law is sanctioned ; and, by his wil- 
ful and habitual violation of one precept, shows that, 
even in his apparent observance of the rest, he is in- 
sincere, and not influenced by the required principle, 
an afl'ectionate regard for that divine authority from 
which the whole law has emanated. " Good Mas- 
ter," said a young and promising man to our Saviour, 
" what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ? 
And Jesus said unto him — Thou knowest the com- 
mandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do 
not steal. Do not bear false witness. Defraud not, 
Honour thy father and mother. And he answered 
and said unto him. Master, all these things have I 
observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him 
loved him, and said unto him. One thing thou lack- 
est : go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and 



THE MORAL CODE. 193 

give to the poor; and thou shalt have treasure in 
heaven : and come, take up thy cross, and follow me. 
And he was sad at that saying, and went away 
grieved: for he had great possessions.^^"^ 

The lata of God demands entire perfection. 

The very "thought of foolishness/^ is pronounced 
by it to be " sin/' It denounces a curse against every 
transgression : " Cursed is every one that continueth 
not in all things which are written in the book of the 
law to do them.'' Christians are required to cleanse 
themselves " from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, 
perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord." Having 
expounded the law in its full and spiritual meaning, 
and set aside the corrupt glosses, by which the Jewish 
scribes had clouded, diminished, and altered its re- 
quirements, Jesus Christ subjoined this injunction : 
" Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which 
is in heaven is perfect." And Paul, with his great 
attainments in piety, acknowledged his failing to 
reach the high standard at which he was aiming : 
«• Not as though I had already attained, either were 
already perfect : but I follow after, if that I may ap- 
prehend that for which also I am apprehended of 
Jesus Christ. Brethren, I count not myself to have 
apprehended ; but this one thing I do, forgetting those 
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto 
those things which are before, I press toward the 
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus."t 

* Psalm Ixvi. 18. Luke xviii. 11-14. Psalm cxix. 6. James ii. 10, 
Mark x. 17-21. 

t Prov, xxiv, 9; Gal. iii. 10. 2 Cor. vii. 1. Matt. v. 48. Phil, 
iii. 12-14. 

17 



194 MORAL CODE ITS END. 

SECTION V. 

THE END OF THE MORAL SYSTEM INCULCATED IN THE BIBLE, IS THE 
GLORY OF GOD. 

That a regard to our own reputation and advan- 
tage in leading a life of piety, is allowable, Avill ap- 
pear from the following passages in holy Scripture. 
" By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused 
to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing 
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than 
to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season : esteeming 
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the trea- 
sures of Egypt : for he had respect to the recompense 
of the reward.^^ And of one greater than Moses, it 
is written, "Who, for the joy that was set before him, 
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set 
down at the right hand of God.'^^ Personal advan- 
tage is proposed in Scripture as a motive to religion : 
" Get wisdom, get understanding; neither decline from 
the words of my mouth. Forget her not, and she 
shall preserve thee : love her and she shall keep 
thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get 
wisdom : and with all thy getting, get understanding. 
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee ; she shall 
bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 
She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace ; 
a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.^^ "Let 
your loins be girded about,^^ said our Lord, "and 
your lights burning ; and ye yourselves like unto 
men that wait for their Lord, when he will return 
from the wedding, that, when he cometh and 
knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 
Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, w^hen he 

* Hebrews xi. 24-26 ; xii. 2. 



MORAL CODE ITS END. 195 

cometh, shall find watching : verily I say unto you, 
that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down 
to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And 
if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the 
third watch, and shall find them so, blessed are those 
servants.'^ " Who will render unto every man ac- 
cording to his deeds : to them who by patient contin- 
uance in well doing, seek for glory and honour, and 
immortality, eternal life.^^ " Be thou faithful unto 
death, and I will give thee a crown of life.^^ "To 
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on 
my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down 
with my Father in his throne.^^* 

But while we are permitted, in yielding obedience 
to the divine commandments, to have respect to our 
own personal advantage, and to expect to receive that 
happiness and glory which God has graciously been 
pleased to promise for our encouragement ; we are 
required to aim at his glory ^ as the ultimate end 
of all our acts of obedience. This is expressly taught ; 
" Let your light so shine before men, that they may 
see your good works, and glorify your Father which 
is in heaven. For ye are bought with a price ; there- 
fore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, 
which are God's.^^ "Whether therefore, ye eat or 
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of 
God.^^ Rebuking the impious king of Babylon, the 
prophet said, " The God in whose hand thy breath is, 
and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.'^t 

How reasonable and just is this requisition ! The 
Supreme being, Avho made, upholds, and governs us; 
who is infinite in his perfections, and compared with 

* Prov. iv. 5-9. Luke xii. 35-38. Rom. ii. 6, 7. Rev. ii. 10; iii. 21. 
t Matt. V. 16. 1 Cor. vi. 20 ; x. 31. Dan. v. 23. 



196 SANCTIONS OF 

whom, we, and all creatures are but as the dust of the 
balance; is certainly entitled to the first place in our 
hearts, and to receive from, us the highest possible 
honour that we can offer ? He certainly is worthy to 
receive from us and all inteUigent beings the noblest 
ascriptions of praise, and honour, and power, and 
glory: " For all things were created by him; and for 
his pleasure they are and were created/' 

SECTION VI. 

THE SANCTIONS OF THE BIBLE. 

These belong to its moral code. More weighty and 
powerful sanctions than those which the Bible pro- 
poses, cannot possibly be conceived by the human 
mind. 

1. The law emanating from the Supreme Lawgiver 
of the universe, comes to us clothed with his infinite 
authority. Not man, not an angel, not the highest 
creature in existence, but God, the Almighty Creator 
of all worlds, speaks its commandments. He who is 
possessed of infinite perfections; He who made, pre- 
serves, and blesses us; He who is entitled to all pos- 
sible honour and homage — He has proclaimed his 
will in the Scriptures. To disobey a law issuing from 
Him, and coming enforced by His authority, is rebel- 
lion, the most unjust and ungrateful, the most impi- 
ous and daring. 

2. God, who has proclaimed his law, is represented 
by the sacred writers, as constantly inspecting the 
conduct of his creatures. " The Lord^s throne is in 
heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children 
of men.^^ " His eyes are upon the ways of man, and 
he seeth all his goings/^ '' The ways of man are be- 



I 



THE MORAL CODE. 197 

fore the eyes of the Lord, and he ponderelh all his 
goings/^ " The eyes of the Lord are m every place, 
beholding the evil and the good.'^ " Can any hide 
himself in secret, that I shall not see him ? saith the 
Lord/^ " Thine eyes are upon all the ways of the 
sons of men, to give to every one according to his 
ways, and according to the fruit of his doing/^ " All 
things are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with 
whom we have to do.'^* In language so plain and 
forcible, is the constant and watchful superintendence 
of God over the conduct of men asserted in the 
sacred Scriptures. 

3. The rewards and punishments, by which obedi- 
ence to the divine law is enforced, are exceedingly 
great. They are coextensive with our being. They 
pertain not only to this, but to the next world; they 
are eternal as well as temporal. Obedience is re- 
warded, not only hy health and comfort, by prosperity 
and honour, by peace of mind and joyful hope, in this 
life, but by everlasting happiness and glory in the 
world to come. Disobedience is punished, not only 
by afflictions and sickness, by trouble and disappoint- 
ment, by disquietude of mind and fearful apprehension 
of future judgment, in the present state ; but by shame 
and everlasting misery in the next world. " God will 
render to every one according to his deeds. To them 
who, by patient continuance in well doing, seek for 
glory and honour, and immortality, eternal life ; but 
to them that are contentious, and obey not the truth, 
but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tri- 
bulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that 
doeth evil.^^ In the day of judgment the Judge will 

* Ps. xi. 4. Job xxxiv. 21. Prov. v. 21. Jer. xxiii. 24, xxxii. 19, 
Heb.iv. 13. 

17* 



19!3 EXAMPLES OF 

"say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world :'^ — and " to them on the left 
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire 
prepared for the devil and his angels/^ " And these 
shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the 
righteous into life eternal/^^ 

SECTION VII. 

EXAMPLES OF PIETY AND OBEDIENCE, SET BEFORE US IN THE SCRIPTURES. 

How numerous, shining, and stimulating the ex- 
amples we find in the Bible ! Patriarchs and pro- 
phets, kings and priests, apostles and martyrs, who 
have "fought the good fight, and finished their course 
with joy,^^ now form a cloud of witnesses to encour- 
age, to allure, and to quicken us, in our exertions to 
do the will of God, and accomplish the work assigned 
us by his providence. The piety of Enoch, who, in a 
world filled with wickedness, " walked with God ;" the 
faith of Abraham, who, "when he was called to go 
out into a place which he should after receive for 
an inheritance, obeyed,^' and "went out, not knowing 
whither he went ;^^ and who, when tried, offered up 
Isaac, "his only begotten son;'' — the chastity of 
Joseph, who, when tempted by his mistress, exclaim- 
ed, **How can I do this great wickedness, and sin 
against God?" — the meekness and magnanimity oi 
Moses, who declined the offered honour of having his 
seed increased into a great nation, and prayed he 
might not live to survive the destruction of his people; 
—the integrity of Samuel, who appealed to his coun- 
trymen to bear witness that he had never perverted 

* Romans ii, 6 — 9. Matthew xxv. 34, 44, 46. 



THE MORAL CODE. 199 

justice ; — the devotion of David, whose heart, in prais- 
ing God, glowed with seraphic fire ; — Daniel, who, in 
an idolatrous court, maintained the purity of religion, 
and, in defiance of the king's wicked decrees, prayed 
to God, as usual three times a day; not fearing the 
threatened punishment of being cast into the lions' 
den ; — the zeal^ the benevolence, the magnanimity of 
Paul, who, in discharging the duties of his ministry, 
laboured, and toiled, and suffered so much, contribut- 
ed so greatly to the establishment of Christianity in the 
world, and died so joyfully in his Master's service ; — . 
all these examples of piety and every grace, which 
shed such a lustre over the pages of the Bible, are set 
before us to incite and encourage us to imitate them, 
by endeavouring to keep all God's commandments. 
We are cheered too, by reflecting that the same grace 
which assisted them, can assist us, and render our ex- 
ertions successful in doing and suffering his holy will. 

What can ancient paganism show, in the Hves of 
her philosophers and heroes, that can compare with 
these worthies of the church ? What philosophers 
among pagans ever loved God supremely, and wor- 
shipped him in spirit and in truth ? What philanthro- 
pist among them ever laboured and toiled to save im- 
mortal souls ? 

To all these bright examples of piety and virtue 
exhibited in Scripture, is added the finished and per- 
fect example of Jesus Christ. All others were imper- 
fect. The life of no patriarch, no prophet, no saint, 
no apostle, was faultless. All were more or less de- 
filed. But the life of Christ was faultless, and with- 
out a single blemish. He "did no sin, neither was 
guile found in his lips." He " was holy, harmless, 
undefiled, and separate from sinners." With confi- 



200 PROVISION FOR OBEDIENCE 

dence could he appeal to his maUgnant and watchful 
enemies, "Which of you convinceth me of sin ?'^ In 
nothing, either in action, word, or thought, did he ever 
offend God. His life was a perfect transcript of the 
divine law. 

With such an example, so pure and faultless, before 
them, the disciples of Christ are required to aim at 
perfection. In no attainment are they permitted to 
rest, while they, in any degree, come short of perfec- 
tion. From one degree of holy obedience to another 
are they to advance, till they reach that spotless purity 
to which they are called in Christ Jesus; or to use the 
language of Paul, " till we all come in the unity of 
the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature 
of the fulness of Christ."* In the history of our Sa- 
viour's life we have exemplified that perfection, which 
heathen philosophers could neither describe in words, 
nor even conceive in their minds. 

SECTION VIII. 

PROVISION MADE FOR SECURING THE OBEDIENCE OF FALLEN MAN TO 
THE DIVINE LAW. 

This forms a singular peculiarity in the moral sys- 
tem of the Bible. In this it stands preeminent above 
all other systems of morals. Untaught by divine re- 
velation, men merely lay down rules of duty, and 
never think of strength derived from heaven, to ena- 
ble them to observe these rules. Heathen philoso- 
phers proudly relied on themselves, and boasted of 
virtue as their own attainment. But the Bible hum- 
bles the pride of man, by teaching us our native 
weakness, and to regard God as the author of every 

* Ephesians iv. 13. 



TO THE MORAL CODE. 201 

holy disposition, and of all upright conduct in fallen 
men. To his grace and renewing power it attributes 
regeneration, faith, repentance, a new heart, love, and 
universal sanctification. In proof of this let the fol- 
lowing passages be attentively considered. " Create 
in me a clean heart, God, and renew a right spirit 
within me.^' " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon 
you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness 
and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new 
heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put 
within you : and I will take away the stony heart 
out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of 
flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and 
cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep 
my judgments and do them.^^ "But as many as re- 
ceived him, to them gave he power to become the 
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name : 
which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the 
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.^^ " For by 
grace are ye saved, through faith: and that not of 
yourselves ; it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest 
any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, 
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God 
hath before ordained, that we should walk in them.^' 
" When they heard these things, they held their peace, 
and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the 
Gentiles granted repentance unto life.'^ "But the fruit 
of the Spirit, is love, joy, peace, long suff'ering, gentle- 
ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.^^ " I am 
crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, 
but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live 
in the flesh, I live by the faith of Christ, who loved 
me, and gave himself for me.^^ "By the grace 
of God 1 am what I am.'^ " Abide in me, and I 



202 INSPIRATION OF 

in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, ex- 
cept it abide in the vine ; no more can ye, except ye 
abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches : he 
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth 
forth much fruit : for without me ye can do nothing.^^ 
" Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash 
me, and I shall be whiter than snow.^^* 

This doctrine runs through the Bible ; it is found 
in the Old Testament as well as in the New. 



CHAPTER IV. 



ARGUMENTS FROM THE MORAL CODE. 

From the survey of the moral system of the Bible, 
in the preceding chapter, several arguments in favour 
of its divine original and authority, may be derived. 
Its superiority to all other systems in the world — its 
perfection — its exemption from the debasing influence 
of human depravity — and the provision made for se- 
curing its observance — will each furnish a good and 
conclusive argument. 

SECTION I. 

THE SUPERIORITY OF THE MORAL SYSTEM IN THE BIBLE, IS EVIDENCE 
OF ITS DIVINE ORIGINAL AND AUTHORITY. 

Let the summaries and details of duty, in the Scrip- 
tures, be considered ; the spiritual nature of this code ; 
the perfection of its demands ; the ultimate end of its 

* Ps. li. 10. Ezek.xxxvi. 25-27. John i. 12, 13. Ephes. ii.8-10. 
Acts xi. 18. Gal.v.22,23;ii.20. ICor.xv.lO. John xv. 4, 5. Ps.lLT. 



THE MORAL CODE. 203 

requisitions, the glory of God; the sanctions by which 
obedience is enforced ; the bright and iUustrious ex- 
amples set before us to stimulate and encourage obe- 
dience ; and the singular provision made for securing 
the observance of the divine law — let all these parti- 
culars be duly considered, and the great superiority of 
the moral system in the Bible, to all other systems 
that were ever elaborated by human ingenuity and 
wisdom, will clearly appear. All human systems 
have been essentially defective. They have failed in 
regard to the duties we owe to God ; they have been 
defective in authority, and enforced by inferior and 
feeble motives ; and they have left fallen, sinful man 
to depend upon his own strength in fulfilling his duty. 
How is this great superiority of the sacred writers, 
in stating and enforcing moral duties, to be accounted 
for ? It is not to be ascribed to their superior genius 
and learning; for many pagan philosophers exceeded 
some of them in both these qualifications. The peo- 
ple among whom these writers lived were not distin- 
guished by their attainments in the arts and sciences ; 
they were generally occupied in agricultural pursuits. 
Yet the sacred writers have delivered to the world a 
moral code incomparably superior to all others. Is 
not this singular fact evidence that they did, as they 
affirm, derive their superior wisdom in teaching men 
their duty, from the inspiration of God ? If they were 
indebted to themselves for their preeminence in wis- 
dom, why did they not take to themselves the praise } 
Why did they renounce the honour, by representing 
themselves as humble servants, commissioned to de- 
liver the messages of their Lord and Master ? They 
all have spoken in the name of God. To his divine 
illumination they ascribed their superior knowledge. 



204 INSPIRATION OP 

They have published to the world, not their invention, 
but the law of God, as they received it from the teach- 
ings of his Spirit. " All scripture,^^ says one apostle, 
^^is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, 
thoroughly furnished unto all good works ;'^ and an- 
other, " Holy men of God spake as they were moved 
by the Holy Ghost.''* 

SECTION II. 

THE PERFECTION OF THE MORAL CODE IN THE BIBLE, FURNISHES A 
STRONG PROOF OF HEAVENLY ORIGIN AND DIVINE AUTHORITY. 

The perfection of the Bible system appears mani- 
fest from what we have already said. The ten com- 
mandments are evidently comprehensive of all the 
duties incumbent on men. That supreme and intense 
love to God, and love to our neighbour as ourselves, 
on which the Redeemer teaches us that all the law 
and the prophets hang, must be allowed to be the 
principle of obedience in its utmost perfection : and it 
is undeniably certain, that, if this principle were found 
in our hearts in full vigour, it would prompt, incline, 
and constrain us, most willingly and dehghtfully, to 
every thing that is right, every thing that is lovely, 
and every thing that is noble. Nothing injurious, 
nothing impure, nothing sinful, could flow from such 
a source, so pure and holy. 

Now we ask, was it possible for fallen creatures, 
with understandings darkened, and hearts defiled, by 
sin, to recover the full knowledge of God^s perfect 
law, by the researches of their unassisted minds? 

* 2 Timothy iii. 16. 2 Peter i. 31 . 



THE MORAL CODE. 205 

This question is, we think distinctly answered by the 
ignorance of the law that prevailed in the heathen 
world for four thousand years, and that still prevails 
in every part of the world, where the light of divine 
revelation does not shine. The distinction between 
right and wrong, has never been obliterated from the 
human mind ; conscience has always, and still does 
every where, condemn sin, more or less. Yet no 
philosopher has ever arisen among heathen nations, 
to furnish them with a system of duties approximat- 
ing in any degree to perfection. But Moses, who 
lived in the idolatrous court of Egypt, and Jesus 
Christ, who was brought up without education, in a 
despised city of Galilee, have each presented the 
world with a comprehensive and perfect rule of moral 
duty. Whence did they derive their knowledge, so 
superior to that of all other men ? Were they not 
inspired by God, and thus enabled to teach what no 
uninspired man ever taught ? 

Unfallen creatures are perfect ; and being perfect, 
they are acquainted with their duty in its full extent, 
and must have possessed this knowledge from the 
commencement of their moral agency. But how 
could they have been thus informed from that early 
period, except by divine teaching ? The divine law 
is adapted to the relation subsisting between the Crea- 
tor and his creatures; and a perfect adjustment of the 
law to this relation, requires a perfect knowledge both 
of God and of his creatures. But such knowledge no 
created being does or can possess ; and it will follow 
as a consequence, that no creature, whatever may be 
his intellectual endowments, could, by their exercise, 
discover the law of God in all its perfections. He 
must be indebted for such knowledge to his Creator. 

18 



206 INSPIRATION OP 

If this be true in regard to unfallen, holy creatures, 
must it not be true of fallen, sinful creatures ? If holy- 
angels, and man in his primitive condition, were in- 
debted to God for the knowledge of his will, must it 
not follow as a certain consequence, that fallen man, 
with his mind darkened and conscience corrupted by 
sin, could never have discovered that perfect code of 
morals taught in the Bible, if it had not been revealed 
by the Spirit of God? 



SECTION III. 

THE EXEMPTION OF THE MORAL SYSTEM CONTAINED IN THE BIBLE, FROM 
THE DEBASING INFLUENCE OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY, IS ANOTHER PROOF 
OF ITS HEAVENLY ORIGIN. 

The depravity resulting from our apostasy from 
God, has a pernicious influence over the minds, and 
especially the hearts of men. It has impaired their 
spiritual perceptions, stupefied their conscience, and 
alienated their hearts from God. " The natural man 
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God \ for they 
are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them ; 
because they are spiritually discerned.'^ " The carnal 
mind is enmity against God ; and is not subject to the 
law of God, neither indeed can be.^^ Such is the 
testimony of Scripture ; and universal experience 
proves its truth. Now, it is easy to see that heathen 
philosophers, writing under the influence of natural 
depravity producing such pernicious efl'ects; men 
blinded in their minds by sin, and living in estrange- 
ment from God ; were not competent to compile a 
code of moral duties that should correspond to all 
the relations we sustain to God and to one another. 
Accordingly their systems were grossly defective in 



THE MORAL CODE. 207 

respect to duties we owe to God, as well as deficient 
in stating personal and relative duties. Nor was this 
blinding influence of sin confined to heathen philoso- 
phers ; it has shown itself in the moral writings of 
philosophers, who have enjoyed the advantage of 
living under the light of divine revelation. Many- 
social and relative duties you will find well stated 
and illustrated by them; but you will not find incul- 
cated in their writings those lovely duties on which 
the sacred writers insist : such as humility, meekness, 
gentleness, forgiveness, and heavenly mindedness. 

The system of moral duties exhibited in the sacred 
Scriptures, is entirely free from this depressing influ- 
ence of human depravity. The doctrine of depravity 
is distinctly and fully taught by the sacred writers ; 
its influence in blinding the understanding, in pervert- 
ing the affections, and alienating the heart from God, 
is insisted on by them. They had themselves expe- 
rience of this debasing influence ; being by nature as 
depraved as other men ; living under the dominion of 
sin, till it pleased God to deliver them by his grace, 
and continuing, more or less, subject, through life, to 
its misguiding influence : and yet they have presented 
a code of moral duties entirely free from the pervert- 
ing effects of this powerful cause. No duty is lowered, 
so as to accommodate it to the weakness of human 
nature induced by the apostasy. Every one is ex- 
hibited in all its commanding claims, as if addressed 
to unfallen creatures. We are required not only to love 
God, but to love him with all our heart, with all our 
mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength, and 
not only to love our neighbour, but to love him as 
ourselves. In a word, we are commanded to be per- 
fect, as our Father which is in heaven is perfect. 



208 INSPIRATION OF 

A singular phenomenon ! Sinful, fallen man, living 
in a sinful, fallen world ; surrounded with darkness 
and prevailing idolatry ; publishing a code of laws, 
that, rising above every unpropitious influence, re- 
quires the perfection in holiness, that was originally 
demanded from unfallen man. Can this phenomenon 
be explained without referring to divine inspiration ? 
Are we not driven to the conclusion, that these holy 
men wrote under the illuminating and guiding influ- 
ence of the Holy Spirit ? Without this heavenly in- 
fluence how could they have perceived what other 
men did not, and could not, perceive, and publish 
truths which the apostasy had obliterated from the 
human heart? 



SECTION IV. 

THE PROVISION MADE IN THE BIBLE FOR SECURING OBEDIENCE TO ITS 
MORAL SYSTEM, FURNISHES A STRONG ARGUMENT FOR ITS DIVINE ORIGI- 
NAL AND AUTHORITY. 

The sacred writers, we have seen, teach very dis- 
tinctly the doctrine, that the regeneration and sanctifi- 
cation of the human soul, are the work of God; that 
all holy desires and heavenly dispositions come from 
above ; that we are authorized to pray for promised 
grace to assist us in doing the divine will ; in a word 
that the work of renovation is begun, carried on, and 
consummated by grace derived from Jesus Christ. 
This great and interesting doctrine of divine influence, 
in recovering our fallen race from a state of sin to a 
state of holiness, was familiar to the minds of the 
sacred writers. They speak of it, not as a doubtful 
matter, with hesitation, but as infalUble truth, with 
unwavering assurance. It is interwoven with all 



THE MORAL CODE. 209 

their writings. It is taught by them in a variety of 
forms; as a doctrine and as a promise, as furnishing 
a directory for prayer, and as prescribing a duty. 
The whole Ufe of a Christian is described as originat- 
ed, preserved, and consummated by divine influence. 
Writing to the PhiUppians, Paul says, " Being confi- 
dent of this very thing, that he which hath begun a 
good work in you will perform it mitil the day of 
Jesus of Christ.^^ And, in his epistle to the church of 
the Thessalonians, he says, "And the very God of 
peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your 
whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blame- 
less unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faith- 
ful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.^^* 

Whence did the sacred writers obtain this know- 
ledge ? How came their minds to be so familiar with 
it? And why did they inculcate the doctrine of di- 
vine influence, so fully and with such confidence? 
Reason was not their teacher : for if reason could per- 
adventure suggest that God might assist individuals 
struggling with temptations, she could not possibly 
give assurance that he would regenerate and sanctify 
a single soul. The knowledge of the important doc- 
trine of divine influence, as stated and illustrated in 
the Bible, could be derived from no other source than 
heavenly instructions. Nothing but the teachings of 
God's Spirit could furnish the apostles with such clear 
views of this interesting truth, as they manifestly pos- 
sessed, and inspire them with such unhesitating con- 
fidence in teaching it to their fellow men. 

Had it been possible for impostors to conceive 
such a doctrine, they would not have dared to make ' 
it a part of their system, that God would give to their 

* Phil. i. 6. 1 Thes. V. 23, 24. 

18* 



210 INSPIRATION OP 

disciples a new hearty and enable them to lead a holy- 
life ; because they might easily see, that no one of 
their disciples would receive grace to impart to him 
such a character ; and consequently their cause would 
soon be ruined by the failure of a predicted event. 

The sabbatical year was a wonderful part of the 
Mosaic institution. Had he not been assured that he 
was divinely directed, Moses would never have com- 
manded the Israelites to let their land remain uncul- 
tivated every seventh year, much less would he have 
announced the promise, that God would bless them 
in the sixth year, and cause it " to bring forth fruit 
for three years.'^^ If the idea of such an institution 
could have entered into the mind of an impostor, he 
would not have been so superlatively foolish as to 
adopt it, and to announce a promise which he knew 
would not be fulfilled ; the failure of which would, in 
the course of a few years, ruin his cause, and cover 
him with shame. The institution of Moses carries 
on its front the marks of its heavenly origin. Both in 
delivering the command, and in uttering the promise, 
the Hebrew lawgiver acted as one assured he was 
acting by divine authority. 

In like manner the doctrine of divine influence, as 
taught in the Bible, carries on its front manifest tokens 
of heavenly origin: for, if it were not true, it would 
long ago have brought discredit on our holy religion. 
If it had not been true, its eff'ects would never have 
appeared ; not a solitary individual would have under- 
gone the transformation of character which this doc- 
trine implies : and, if no individual had been trans- 
formed by divine grace, accompanying the preaching 
of the gospel, how could the gospel have gained such 

* Lev. XXV. 21. 



THE MORAL. CODE. 211 

triumphs as it did in the apostles' day ? How easily 
could its enemies have disproved the wonders said to 
have been wrought on the day of Pentecost ! If no 
such transforming influence attended the gospel, would 
Paul, when addressing the Corinthian church, after 
having spoken of the vilest characters of men, have 
dared to appeal to them, and say : " And such were 
some of you : but ye are washed, but ye are sancti- 
fied, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God ?'^* This was 
not the language of empty boasting, but the language 
of sober truth. Nothing but a divine influence could 
have sustained the apostles and their converts against 
that bitter and destructive persecution, which was 
carried on, both by Jews and Gentiles, for the ruin of 
Christianity. They felt it themselves, and their con- 
verts felt it ; and its cheering, supporting, and trium- 
phant power was seen by their persecutors, when the 
victims of their malice cheerfully yielded their lives 
in honour of their Lord and Saviour, and sang his 
praises on the scaflbld, and at the stake. Thousands 
of such witnesses to the truth, bled and died. With- 
out fear of contradiction Paul could write to the church 
at Thessalonica, " For our gospel came not unto you 
in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy 
Ghost, and in much assurance ; as ye know what 
manner of men we were among you for your sake. 
And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, 
having received the word in much afiiiction, with joy 
of the Holy Ghost : so that ye were ensamples to all 
that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. For from you 
sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Mace- 
donia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith 

* 1 Corinthians vi. 11. 



212 INSPIRATION OF 

to God-ward is spread abroad ; so that we need not 
speak any thing. For they themselves show of us 
what manner of entering in we had unto you, and 
how ye turned to God from dumb idols to serve the 
living and true God ; and to wait for his Son from 
heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, 
which delivered us from the wrath to come.'^ " For 
this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, 
when ye received the word which ye heard of us, ye 
received it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, 
the word of God, which eifectually worketh also in 
you that believe/'* Is not this the language of truth ? 
Would Paul have written this, if he had not been as- 
sured he was stating facts ? Would he have appealed 
to them as having felt and experienced an influence 
of which they had no consciousness ? What could 
have induced him to act with such supreme folly ? 

Divine influence in transforming the characters of 
men, was not confined to the apostolic period. It has 
pervaded the church, more or less, in every age. It 
shone with lustre in the glorious reformation from 
Popish ignorance and superstition ; when, by the 
preaching of Luther and his associates, such a blessed 
change was wrought in a large portion of Europe. It 
has been manifested in the signal revivals of religion 
which God was graciously pleased to vouchsafe to the 
American churches ; and in the formation of Bible, 
and Missionary, and Tract, and Sunday School, and 
other religious societies of the present time. There 
are multitudes of living Christians, and among them 
thousands of talented and learned men, who profess to 
have experienced the transforming grace of God, and 
who give no doubtful evidence of the blessed change 

* 1 Thes. i 5-10; ii. 13. 



THE MORAL CODE. 213 

that has been wrought in their temper and life. The 
intemperate have become sober ; the licentious, chaste ; 
the covetous, hberal ; the worldly, heavenly-minded ; 
the revengeful, forgiving; the depraved, holy. 



CHAPTER V. 



REDEMPTION THE WORK OF GOD. 

Creation bears the impress of the Creator's infinite 
perfections. When an intelligent mind contemplates 
the heavens and the earth, and the various orbs of 
the firmament above ; the land and water, the moun- 
tains and valleys, the hills and plains, that compose 
our earth ; and carefully examines the relations which 
the various parts of the heavens and the earth bear to 
each other ; he cannot doubt that they are the work 
of an almighty and infinitely wise and good Being. 
In like manner, when he surveys the motions of the 
heavenly bodies, the rising and the setting of the sun, 
the moon, and the stars, the ebbing and flowing of the 
tide, the successive generations of men and other 
animals, the return of the seasons, the adaptation of 
objects to our various senses, the regular return of 
day and night, and its correspondence to our nature, 
the food provided for man and beast, and the manner 
in which it is produced ; he sees at once the provi- 
dence of the Creator, and that the world is upheld and 
governed by him who made it. The Author of these 
works is seen in their own light. 

Just so, that great work of redemption of which the 
Bible speaks, is known to be the work of God. It 



214 REDEMPTION GOU's WORK. 

has the signature of his glorious perfections deeply- 
impressed on it. This will be seen, by contemplating 
its contrivance, — its developments, — its execution, — 
its application, — its benefits and results,— and its con- 
summation. 



SECTION I. 

THE CONTRIVANCE OF THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION. 

When God created the different parts of the world, 
he only spake his will. " And God said. Let there be 
light, and there was Hght.^' — "Let the waters under 
the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and 
let the dry land appear ; and it was so.^^ — "Let the earth 
bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit 
tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in 
itself, upon the earth: and it was so.^^* But when 
God was about to create man, the lord of this world, 
there was a consultation of the sacred Three : " And 
God said. Let us make man in our image, after our 
likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of 
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the 
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping 
thing that creepeth upon the earth.^^t 

If a consultation between the sacred Three in the 
Godhead occurred at the creation of man, we may 
well suppose such a consultation held when the great 
scheme of his redemption was devised. The Scrip- 
tures indicate this as occurring in the counsels of 
eternity. It is intimated that proposals and promises 
were made by the Father to the Son ; and that these 
proposals were acceded to by the Son, and a fulfil- 
ment claimed by him on the accomplishment of his 

* Gen. i. 3, 9, 11. t lb. i. 26. 



215 

work. " Ask of me/^ is the language of the Father 
to the Son, "and I shall give thee the heathen for 
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth 
for thy possession.'^ Again, " The Lord said unto 
my Lord, Sit thou at nriy right hand, until I make 
thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the 
rod of thy strength out of Zion : rule thou in the midst 
of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the 
day of thy power.'^^ 

The Son is represented as responding : " Sacrifice 
and offering thou didst not desire : mine ears hast thou 
opened : burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not 
required. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume of 
the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, 
my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.'' 
When the Redeemer was on the eve of finishing his 
work, he said, " I have glorified thee on the earth. I 
have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 
And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own 
self with the glory which I had with thee before the 
world was.^'t 

Of the scheme of redemption the sacred writers 
speak as a great mystery originating in eternity. Paul, 
in his epistle to the Romans, says, ^^Now to him that 
is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, 
and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the 
revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since 
the world began, but nov/ is made manifest, and by 
the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the com- 
mandment of the everlasting God, made known unto 
all nations for the obedience of faith.'' The same 
apostle says to the Corinthians, "But we speak the 

* Ps. ii. 8; ex. 1-3. Isa. xlix. 1-9. t Ps. xl. 6-8. John xvii. 4, 5. 



216 REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 

wisdom of God in a mystery, even the liidden wis- 
dom, which God ordained before the world was, 
which none of the princes of this world knew : for 
had they known it, they would not have crucified the 
Lord of glory/' Again, writing to the Ephesians, he 
says, " Unto me, who am less than the least of all 
saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among 
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ ; and to 
make all men see what is the fellowship of the mys- 
tery, which from the beginning of the world hath 
been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus 
Christ : to the intent that now unto the principalities 
and powers in heavenly places might be known by 
the church the manifold wisdom of God ; according to 
the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus: 
in whom we have boldness and access with confidence 
by the faith of him/' And again in his epistle to the 
Colossians, " The mystery which hath been hid from 
ages and from generations, but now is made manifest 
to his saints : to whom God would make known what 
is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the 
Gentiles ; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory/' 
"That their hearts might be comforted, being knit to- 
gether in love, arid unto all riches of the full assurance 
of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mys- 
tery of God and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom 
are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge/'* 
Such is the language of the inspired writers, when 
speaking on the scheme of redemption. The strict 
propriety of it will appear as we advance in our dis- 
cussion. 

* Rom. xvi. 25, 26. 1 Cor. ii. 7, 8. Eph. iii. 8-12. Col. i. 26, 27 ; ii. 2, 3. 



REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 217 

SECTION II. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SCHEME, AS TAUGHT IN THE BIBLE. 

The development of the scheme of redemption oc- 
cupied four thousand years. Shortly after the crea- 
tion of the worlds and immediately after man's apos- 
tasy, intimation was given of a coming Saviour; and, 
as ages rolled away, additional communications relat- 
ing to him and his work, were made to mankind. 
During all this time the church was taught to look by 
faith and holy expectation for the advent of the Mes- 
siah. Indeed the glorious scheme will not be com- 
pletely developed, until time shall end, and eternity 
open upon the redeemed of the Lord in the highest 
heaven ; for the grand and glorious work of saving a 
lost world will not be finished, till all who are to par- 
take of the great salvation, shall have been collected 
around the throne of God and the Lamb, adorned 
with their white robes, and crowns of immortal 
blessedness. So sublime is this amazing scheme ! 
The wisdom of God deemed it proper to employ a 
system of types to shadow forth something of the pro- 
mised Redeemer. It consisted of things, such as the 
ark, that saved Noah and his family, the serpent 
lifted in the wilderness, for healing those who were 
bitten by the fiery serpents, and the sacrifices appoint- 
ed to make atonement for sin : and of such persons, as 
Adam, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and David. A system 
of prophecy was also instituted for developing the 
great scheme of redemption. Prophet after prophet, 
in a long succession of ages, from Enoch, the seventh 
from Adam, down to Malachi, under the Old Testa- 
ment, and John the last prophet under the New, were 

19 



218 REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 

raised up and inspired of God to deliver their respec- 
tive messages concerning Christ and his kingdom. 
Light increased more and more, till the Sun of Right- 
eousness arose, and shone upon the world, in all his 
brightness, and " with healing under his wings/' 

At first the knowledge of the Redeemer was deliv- 
ered orally^ and transmitted from generation to gene- 
ration by tradition from father to son, till the preva- 
lence of wickedness and idolatry, rendered it necessary 
to reduce it to writing, and to commit it to the keep- 
ing of a separate and peculiar people. God, therefore, 
was pleased to choose Abraham and his descendants 
for this high and distinguishing trust. When they 
were multiplied into a nation. He delivered them from 
Egyptian bondage, " by a mighty and outstretched 
arm;'' conducted them through the Red Sea, on dry 
ground ; led them through the wilderness, where he 
was pleased to keep them forty years, sustaining them 
daily by manna from the skies, and water that flowed 
from the flinty rock, smitten by the rod of Moses. 
And when they were in due time settled in the land 
of promise, he watched over them by an extraordi- 
nary and miraculous providence, till the Messiah 
came. To this singular people the prophets were 
sent, and all their written predictions and messages 
were delivered. 

The development of the scheme of redemption re- 
lated to the person^ — the offices^ — and the worh^ of 
the Saviour. 

1. His person was foretold. An indication of it 
was given in the first promise recorded in the Bible. 
In passing sentence on Satan, God said, " I will put 
enmity between thee and the woman, and between 
thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and 



REDEMPTION GOD's WOKK. 219 

thou shalt bruise his heel.''* This passage has 
ah-eady been explained ; (pages 77, 78,) and we now 
advert to it, to show that it intimated to our first 
parents that the Redeemer would be more than man. 
A man he was to be ; but a mere man could not bruise 
the serpent's head, or destroy the works of the devil. 
This achievement transcended the ability of any man, 
and of all men. One greater than the seed of the 
woman, than a mere man, was required to endure the 
sufferings expressed by the bruising of his heel by the 
serpent. This might have been inferred by our first 
parents from the promise. Light was thrown upon 
its meaning by the institution of sacrifices. Between 
the death of a dumb animal and the sin of a rational 
creature, there is no connexion; so that the preva- 
lence of animal sacrifices can be accounted for only on 
the ground, that they were at first instituted by divine 
appointment. Abel, Moses tells us, offered " of the 
firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof; and God 
had respect unto Abel, and to his offering.'^ And 
Paul says, " By faith Abel offered unto God a more 
excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained 
witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his 
gift: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.^f If 
sacrifices were not divinely instituted, Abel could not 
have offered his in faith, nor would God have accept- 
ed such unprescribed worship. Sacrifices from the 
beginning pointed to the grand sacrifice to be offered 
in future time by the promised one. 

By David the church was taught that the Redeemer 
was the Son of God ;, for it is written in the second 
psalm, " I will declare the decree ; the Lord hath said 
unto me. Thou art my Son ; this day I have begotten 

*Gen, iii. ]5. t lb. iv. 4. Heb. xi. 4. 



220 REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 

thee.'^ This the Jews rightly understood as teaching 
the divine nature of the Saviour. When our Lord 
assumed this title, they charged him with blasphemy 
in making himself God."^ Isaiah proclaimed both his 
miraculous conception and his divine nature. "Be- 
hold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall 
call his name Immanuel.'^ Again, " For unto us a 
child is born, unto us a son is given : and the govern- 
ment shall be upon his shoulders : and his name shall 
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the 
everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace/^ How sub- 
lime these titles ! They belong to none but the Su- 
preme Being. Again, the same prophet, in the most 
animating language, announces his Godhead, by styl- 
ing him not only God, but Jehovah, (that incommuni- 
cable name.) " Zion, that bringest good tidings, 
get thee up into the high mountain : Jerusalem, 
that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with 
strength ; lift it up, be not afraid ; say unto the cities 
of Judah, Behold, your God ! Behold, the Lord God 
(original Jehovah) will come with strong hand, and 
his arm shall rule for him : behold, his reward is with 
him, and his work before him. He shall feed his 
flock like a shepherd : he shall gather the lambs with 
his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall 
gently lead those that are with young.^^ Malachi says, 
"The Lord (Jehovah) whom ye seek, shall suddenly 
come to his temple, even the messenger of the cove- 
nant, whom ye delight in : behold, he shall come, saith 
the Lord of hosts.^^t 

But in the New Testament we have the clearest in- 
struction as to the natures, and person of our blessed 
Lord. There we are distinctly taught to believe that 

* John X. 33-36. t Isa. vii. 14 ; ix. 6; xl. 9-11. Mai. iii. 1. 



REDEMPTION GOD S WORK. 221 

he is truly man, having the soul and body of a man, 
and truly Godwin one person ; there is ascribed to him 
every divine name, every divine attribute, every 
divine work, and every divine honour. 

2. The offices of our Redeemer were revealed to 
God's ancient church. He was exhibited as the great 
prophet, the great high priest, and the glorious king 
of his people.* 

3. The work to be performed by Messiah in these 
offices was distinctly foretold. 

His work as a prophet is predicted by Isaiah : " The 
Spirit of the Lord God is upon me ; because the Lord 
hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the 
meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, 
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of 
the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the 
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance 
of our God ; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint 
unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them 
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the gar- 
ment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; that they 
might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of 
the Lord, that he might be glorified.^t 

His work as high priest, Daniel foretold when he 
said Messiah should " be cut off, but not for himseUV 
and that he was " to finish transgression, and to make 
an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, 
and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal 
up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most 
Holy.^'t 

The Redeemer's work as king, is set forth by David 
as taking vengeance on his enemies, as subduing them 

* Deut. XX. 18, 19. Ps. ex. 4 ; ii. 6. t Isa. Ixi, 1-3. \ Dan. ix. 24, 2G , 

19* 



222 REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 

to his control^and ruling over a willing people.* Isaiah 
celebrates the glory of our king and of his kingdonn, 
in the most animating strains. " But with righteous- 
ness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity 
for the meek of the earth : and he shall smite the earth 
with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his 
lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness 
shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the 
girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with 
the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; 
and the calf and the young lion and the fathng toge- 
ther ; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow 
and the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie 
down together : and the lion shall eat straw like the 
ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of 
the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on 
the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy 
in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of 
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the 
sea.'^t '' Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the 
glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, 
the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness 
the people : but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and 
his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles 
shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of 
thy rising. Lift up thine eyes, round about, and see : 
all they gather themselves together, they come to thee ; 
thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall 
be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow 
together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged : 
because the abundance of the sea shall be converted 
unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto 
thee.^'t 

* Ps. ii. 110. t Isa. xi. 4-9e t Isa. Ix. 1-5.. 



REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 223 

David had, before the time of Isaiah, set forth the 
blessedness of king Messiah's reign : " He shall come 
down like rain upon the mown grass : as showers 
that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous 
flourish ; and abundance of peace, so long as the moon 
endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to 
sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. 
They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before 
him ; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings 
of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the 
kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all 
kings shall fall down before him : all nations shall 
serve him.''* 

Micah, subsequently to David, said of this great 
king : " He shall judge among many people, and re- 
buke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their 
swords into ploughshares, and their spears into prun- 
ing hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against na- 
tion, neither shall they learn war any more. But they 
shall sit every man under his vine and his fig tree ; and 
none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the 
Lord of hosts hath spoken it."t 

Such is the language of ancient prophecy in regard 
to the work which Messiah had to perform, in the of- 
fices he assumed for accomplishing his glorious enter- 
prise of saving a lost and ruined world. It will ap- 
pear more clearly and distinctly, by considering 

SECTION III. 

ITS EXECUTION. 

In the revolution of ages the time arrived, when 
all things which " were written in the law of Moses, 

* Psalm Ixxii. 6^1 L t Micah iv. 3, 4. 



224 REDEMPTION GOD's WORK, 

and in the prophets, and in the psalms/^ concerning 
the Redeemer, were to be fulfilled. '' Then when the 
fulness of time was come/^ says Paul, " God sent forth 
his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to 
redeem them that were under the lav/, that we might 
receive the adoption of sons.'^* The glorious Re- 
deemer was the Son of God before he was born, and 
came into the world. He existed from eternity as the 
Son of God ; and in time he assumed human nature 
into personal union with his divine nature. So the 
truth is accurately stated by the same apostle in his 
epistle to the Philippians, where he says of Him, 
" Who, being in the form of God, thought it not rob- 
bery to be equal with God : but made himself of no 
reputation, and took upon him the form of a serwant 
and was made in the likeness of men.'^t 

Having voluntarily assumed the nature of man, to 
execute the great work of redemption, he became, in 
all things, subject to the law by which man was 
governed, that he might fulfil all righteousness. He 
was circumcised in his infancy ; and subsequently he 
observed all the rites and ceremonies of divine wor- 
ship. He attended both the service of the temple and 
of the synagogue. 

Being baptized by John, and having received from 
heaven the attestation of his Messiahship, he pro- 
ceeded immediately to discharge the duties of his 
prophetic office, by teaching in the synagogues. In 
the synagogue at Nazareth, he applied to himself a 
signal prophecy of Isaiah, (Luke iv. 14-22) and drew 
forth the admiration of all who heard him speak his 
gracious words. From that time he, as the great 
prophet of the Church, persevered to the end of his 

* Gal. iv. 4, 5. t Phil ii. 6, 7. 



REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 225 

life, in teaching wherever he went ; in the temple at 
Jerusalem, in the synagogues throughout Judea, in 
Galilee, on the mount, by the way-side, on the sea- 
shore; and wherever the people assembled around 
him to hear his heavenly wisdom. His labours in 
teaching were incessant. When his public instruc- 
tions were ended, he taught his disciples in private ; 
explaining to them what they did not understand, 
and thus preparing them for discharging the functions 
of that high office to which he had called them. 

2. But under this head our attention must be 
directed especially to the Redeemer's execution of his 
office of High Priest, by which he wrought out our 
redemption in the way of a purchase. The Apostle 
Paul teaches, that we were redeemed with a price : 
" For ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify 
God in your body, and in your spirit, which are 
God's.'^^ Peter tells us what the price of our redemp- 
tion was: " For as much as ye know that ye were 
not redeemed (s>.yTga3-^T€) with corruptible things, as 
silver and gold, from your vain conversation received 
by tradition from your fathers; but with the pre- 
cious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish 
and without spot.'^t The price of our redemption 
was the precious blood of Christ, the lamb sacrh&ed 
for us. 

To describe the suffi3rings of our Redeemer, and 
their various sources, is here unnecessary. Every 
one who reads his life as recorded by the Evangelists, 
will see that they were great and multiplied. But it 
is important to learn from the Bible their true charac- 
ter and design. Let us then inquire. Why Jesus 
Christ suffered. The inspired writers reply to this 

* 1 Cor. vi. 20. t Heb. vii. 26. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. 



226 KEDEMPTION GOd's WORK. 

question, that he did not suffer for himself; for says 
one, He was ^^holy, harmless, undefiled, separate 
from sinners;" and another, he "did no sin, neither 
was guile found in his mouth.'^ On his own account 
he could not suffer. There existed no reason for his 
suffering. Paul referring to his innocence, says, 
" Who needed not daily, as those high priests, to offer 
up sacrifice, first for his own sins.''* The sacred 
writers tell us distinctly that Christ suffered for us : 
" Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in 
the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind :" and 
that he suffered for our sins : " For," says this 
apostle, " Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the 
just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God; 
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the 
Spirit." And this they consider as a special exhi- 
bition of divine love : " But God commendeth his love 
towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ 
died for us."t 

But in what sense did the Redeemer suffer and die 
for us, and for our sins? Was it merely for our 
benefit, as a martyr to the truth, and as an example 
for our imitation ? He did indeed die as a martyr to 
the truth ; and in his life we find the best example for 
imitation, when enduring affliction, and especially 
when called to suffer persecution for our faith. But 
this was rather incidental to his humiliation and suf- 
ferings. Had our redemption required nothing more, 
than a testimony to the truth and an example of 
patience under suffering, no sufficient cause would 
have existed for the mission of the Son of God into 
the world. A mere creature sustained by divine 
grace, would have been adequate to the work, and 

* 1 Pet. ii. 22. Ileb, vii. 27. t 1 Pet. iv.l ; iii. 18. Rom. v. 8. 



REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 227 

miglit have become our Redeemer. More than this, 
the Bible teaches us, was required to save our lost 
and ruined race. While we thankfull}^ admit that the 
benefits mentioned result to us from the sufferings and 
death of Christ, we are not to overlook the great fact, 
that he suffered and died to procure for us far greater 
blessings than these, and to accomplish a work, which 
no mere creature could possibly accomplish. The 
true character and design of the sufferings and death 
of the Son of God, as exhibited in the Bible, is this : 
They were offered to God as an expiatory sacrifice 
for sin ; designed to satisfy his justice, turn away from 
us his wrath, and procure for us the remission of our 
sins, and reconciliation with his offended majesty. 
All this will appear from the passages to be quoted. 
Paul says, " Christ also hath loved us, and hath given 
himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for 
a sweet smelling savour:'^ and again, "For even Christ 
our passover was sacrificed for us.^^* 

In the latter text w^e are taught the passover was a 
type of Christ. What was the passover, and what its 
design? It was a lamb without blemish slain by 
the congi-egation of Israel, the blood of which was 
sprinkled "' on the two side posts, and on the upper 
door posts of the houses,^^ to protect them against the 
destroying angel : " and the blood shall be to you for 
a token upon your houses where you are : and when 
I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague 
shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite 
the land of Egypt.'^t Now, as Christ was our pass- 
over sacrificed for us, he has done for us really what 
the type signified ; his blood sprinkled upon us effectu- 
ally protects us against that wrath of the Almighty 

* Eph . V. 2. 1 Cor. V. 7. t Ex. xii. 3-13. 



228 REDEMPTION GOd's WORK. 

that will fall on those on whom it is not sprinkled, 
when he shall come to punish all the workers of 
iniquity. 

The same great truth was typically taught to God's 
ancient church, by all the expiatory sacrifices that 
were offered under the law, and especially by the 
transactions of the great day of atonement. The 
high priest was a type of Christ ; and what he did on 
that great day, was typical of what our High Priest 
did for us. So we are distinctly and fully taught by 
Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews. See ch. v. 1-5. 
viii. 1-5. ix. 1-15. x. 1-14. In Leviticus xvi., we 
have a particular account of the ceremonies, transac- 
tions, and sacrifices of that day, when the high priest 
"made an atonement for himself, and for his house- 
hold, and for all the congregation of Israel.'' verse 17. 
But what is particularly worthy of notice, is the state- 
ment contained in verses 21, 22. "And Aaron shall 
lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and 
confess over him all the iniquities of the children of 
Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, put- 
ting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send 
him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilder- 
ness : and the goat shall bear upon him all their in- 
iquities unto a land not inhabited." How was this 
type fulfilled in Christ ? He was at once the High 
Priest who offered, and the victim that bore away our 
sins. Our sins were laid upon him; for says the 
prophet, " He was wounded for our transgressions, he 
was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of 
our peace was upon him : and with his stripes we are 
healed. " All we like sheep have gone astray ; we 
have turned everyone to his own way ; and the Lord 



REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 229 

hath LAID ON HIM THE INIQUITY OF US ALL."^ With 

this language of the evangelical prophet accords that 
of the apostle, when speaking of Christ, he says, 
" Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on 
the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto 
righteousness : by whose stripes ye were healed.'^t 

The truth is uttered in language still more emphatic 
by Paul. "For he hath made him to be shi for us, 
who knew no sin ; that we might be made the right- 
eousness of God in him.'^J How was the sinless Re- 
deemer made sin for us ? He was not miade sin in 
the abstract, he was not converted into sin. But he 
was, some will say, made a sin-offering. Well, what 
will this imply ? Many animals were slain for food 
in Judea 5 but they were not sin-offerings. To render 
an animal a sin-offering, it was necessary for a trans- 
gressor to take his intended victim to the temple. 
There, when he had confessed his sin over the head of 
the animal, and thus laid upon it his sin, it was slain 
by the priest. So, if our sins had not been laid on the 
Saviour ; if he had not been held responsible for them, 
and borne the penalty due to them; he could not, ac- 
cording to the import of the types, have been a sin-offer- 
ing. That our sins are taken away by this great expia- 
tory sacrifice, is taught with great plainness and fulness. 
" But Christ being come an High Priest of good things 
to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not 
made with hands, that is to say, not of this building ; 
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his 
own blood he entered in once into the holy place, hav- 
ing obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the 
blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer 
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of 

* Isa. liii. b,^, 1 1 Peter ii. 24. 12 Cor. v. 21. 

20 



230 

the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, 
who, through the eternal Spmt, offered himself to 
God, purge 5^our conscience from dead works, to 
serve the living God?'^ How clearly this teaches us 
that the blood of Christ takes away the guilt and 
stains of works deserving the punishment of death ; 
and so enables us, with freedom and confidence, to 
worship and serve God ! '' The blood of Jesus Christ 
his Son,'^ says John, ^^cleanseth us from all sin/^* 

The whole truth is comprehended in a single 
passage, in Paul's epistle to the Romans; "But now 
the rigliteousness of God without the law is manifest- 
ed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets ; 
even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of 
Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe: 
for there is no diff'erence: for all have sinned, and come 
short of the glory of God ; being justified freely by his 
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus : 
whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through 
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the 
remission of sins that are past, through the forbear- 
ance of God ; to declare at this time his righteous- 
ness : that he might be just ^ and ihejustijier of him 
which believeth in Jesus/'t 

Having completed the execution of his priestly 
office on earth, our Redeemer rose from the dead, as- 
cended on high, passed through the heavens, and 
appeared in the presence of God, as our advocate. 
There he ever lives to present the merits of his great 
sacrifice, and to intercede for his Church.f What 
Avas typified by the entrance of the Jewish high priest 
into the most holy place on the great day of atone- 

*Heb. ix. 11— 14. 1 John i. 7. 

t Rom. iii. 21-26. \ Heb. iv, 14 ; vi. )iO. 



REDEMPTION GOD's VVOUK. 231 

ment, to sprinkle the blood of his sacrifices upon and 
before the n:iercy-seat, and to cover it with the cloud 
of the burning incense, was realized by our great 
High Priest. Lev. xvi. From this fact the apostle 
draws an inference full of consolation : " Wherefore, 
he is able also, to save them to the uttermost that 
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make 
intercession for them.'^* 

3. When the Redeemer had entered into heaven as 
our great High Priest, he took his seat at the right 
hand of God, and was invested with all the powers 
and honours and prerogatives of universal King. He 
was made head over all things to his Church. t 
There he reigns, and will reign for ever. Thence he 
sends down his gifts and blessings on his Church ; the 
first displays of which were given on the day of 
Pentecost, and were continued, in a greater or less 
degree, during the apostolic period: so that the gospel 
triumphed over all opposition, and converts were 
greatly multiplied in Jerusalem, and Jndea, and 
throughout the Gentile world. The divine influences 
of the Holy Spirit, which began on that memorable 
day to be shed down on sinful men, were continued 
till the Roman empire became Christian, and the cross 
was seen upon the throne of the Caesars. His gifts 
were indeed suspended, in a great measure, during 
the dark ages ; but, when the period of the glorious 
Reformation arrived, they were again bestowed in 
rich abundance, for efi'ecting the revival of religion 
that then blessed the world with the return of light 
and grace and truth. The Redeemer still reigns in 
glory ; he still gives to our wretched world the tokens 
of his power and love ; he still maintains his kingdom 

* Heb. vii. 25. t Heb. i. 3, Phil. ii. 9—11. Eph. i. 20—23.. 



232 

on earth : and when the time shall arrive for its uni- 
versal extension, he " will pour out his Spirit on all 
flesh/^ that all men may partake of his grace, and 
behold his glory. " His rest shall be glorious/'* 

SECTION IV. 

THE APPLICATION OF REDEMPTION. 

On this point, but little need be said. The word is 
the means, the ministry the instrument, and the Holy 
Spirit the agent in applying salvation to the souls of 
sinful men. 

The word read and preached is the appointed 
means. It regenerates and sanctifies sinners.t By 
the word they are convicted of sin, and learn their 
their lost and ruined state by nature and by practice; 
by it they are taught the gracious provision God has 
made for their salvation through the mediation of his 
Son ; and by it they are led to repentance, faith, and 
holy obedience. 

The ministry is the appointed instrument for preach- 
ing the gospel, and is used for converting sinners, and 
for building up believers in their most holy faith and 
love.f 

But it is never to be forgotten, that both the word 
and the ministry depend, for all their efficiency and 
success, on the accompanying influence of the Holy 
Spirit. Without his almighty aid Paul is nothing, and 
Apollos is nothing, and the word is a dead letter. § 
The gift of the Spirit was promised by the Redeemer 
to render the gospel successful ; and it is his to con- 
vince " the world of sin, and of righteousness and of 

* Joel ii. 28. Isaiah xi. 10. f 1 Pet. i. 23. John xvii. 17. 

1: 1 Cor. i. 24 ; iv. 15. 2 Cor. iii. 6. Eph. iv. 11-13. 
§ 1 Cor. iii. 5-7 ; ii. 14. 



REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 233 

judgment.'^^ It is his efficiently to renew and sanctify, 
to adorn believers with every grace and virtue, to sus- 
tain and comfort them through their whole course on 
earth, and to bring them at last to glory. 

SECTION V. 

THE BENEFITS AND RESULTS OF REDEMPTION. 

They are numerous, and unutterably important ; of 
these benefits only a bare enumeration will be pre- 
sented. They are, forgiveness of sin, reconciUation 
with God, regeneration and sanctification, restoration 
of the lost divine image, justification and peace with 
God, adoption into his family, and filial intercourse 
with him as a father, the indwelHng of the Holy 
Spirit to sanctify us, to bear witness with our spirits 
that we are the Lord's, to be an earnest in our hearts 
of the heavenly inheritance, to comfort and sustain 
us in every affliction and trial, to seal us unto the day 
of redemption, victory over death, admission into 
heaven, a glorious resurrection of our bodies from the 
dead, acquittal in the day of judgment, and eternal life 
and glory. 

The results of redemption are a glorious exhibition 
of the perfections of God, of his infinite wisdom in 
the contrivance, of his spotless holiness and inflexible 
justice in the execution, and of his infinite mercy, 
grace, and love in the appUcation of this wonderful 
scheme for saving a lost and ruined race. All these 
perfections are more gloriously displayed in the work 
of redemption than they are in the work of creation, 
or in the work of providence. This might be shown, 
but it would require a long discussion. Hear the lan- 
guage of Scripture on the subject; '' In whom are hid 

* John xvi. 8-11. 
20^ 



234 REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 

all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge/' " To 
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers 
in heavenly places might be known by the church the 
manifold wisdom of God.'' "0 the depth of the 
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! 
how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways 
past finding out !" " But God, who commanded the 
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our 
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory 
of God in the face of Jesus Christ." " That Christ 
may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being 
rooted and grounded in love, may be able to compre- 
hend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, 
and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, 
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with 
all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to 
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or 
think, according to the power that worketh in us ; un- 
to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, through- 
out all ages, world without end. Amen."* 



SECTION VI. 

THE CONSUMMATION^ OF REDEMPTION. 

There is a destined consummation of this great 
work on earth. It is predicted by the prophets in the 
most glowing strains. "And I saw in the night 
visions," says Daniel, "and behold one like the Son 
of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to 
the Ancient of days ; and they brought him near be- 
fore him. And there was given him dominion, and 
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, 

* Col. ii. 3. Eph. iii. 10. Rom. xi. 33. 2 Cor. iv. 6. Eph. iii. 17-21. 



REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 235 

and languages, should serve him: his dominion is 
an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, 
and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.'^ 
" And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness 
of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be 
given to the people of the saints of the Most High ; 
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all 
dominions shall serve and obey him. " The king- 
doms of this world,^^ says John, " are become the 
kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ ; and he shall 
reign for ever and ever.^^ "And I heard as it were 
the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of 
many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, 
saying. Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reign- 
eth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour un- 
to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and 
his wife hath m.ade herself ready.^'* 

But the entire consummation of the work of re- 
demption, is reserved for the next world. When time 
shall end, and the last saint shall have been brought 
into the church, and fitted for heaven, then will the 
great Redeemer complete his glorious work of salva- 
tion. Then his temple will be seen rising in all its 
beautiful proportions and grandeur, to the admiration 
of an assembled universe. The appointed hour ar- 
rived, " the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and 
with the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall 
rise first."t Seated on the throne of his glory, and 
attended by all his holy angels, he will separate his 
redeemed people from the wicked, and place them, 
collected out of all nations, from the beginning to the 
end of time, on his right hand ; and at the close of 

* Dan. vii. 13, 14, 27. Rev. xi. 15 ; xix. 6, 7. t 1 Thes. iv. 16. 



236 REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 

the final judgment, pronounce their acquittal and adju- 
dication to eternal life. And when the unnumbered 
millions, redeemed by the blood of Christ, arrayed in the 
white robes of righteousness, and adorned with their 
crowns of immortality, purified from all the guilt and 
stain of sin, saved from all the miseries of an eternal 
hell, and exalted to all the happiness and glory of an 
eternal heaven, shall be presented to the Father, and 
surrounding the throne shall, in the highest heaven, 
ascribe "blessing, and honour, and glory, and power 
unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb 
for ever and ever ;'^* then will be consummated the 
glorious achievement which the Son of God under- 
took, and accomplished by his humiliation, sufferings, 
and death. 

SECTION VII. 

THE ARGUMENT FROM A REVIEW. 

Such is the work of redemption. So it is described 
in Holy Scripture. Take again a comprehensive 
view of it. It originated in eternity. Its develop- 
ment required four thousand years, a system of types 
and of prophecy running through that long track of 
ages. The predicted Redeemer was exhibited as tlie 
Son of God, the mighty God, the everlasting Jehovah, 
the prophet, priest and king of the church. In fufil- 
ment of the promises and predictions he came in the 
fulness of time, and assumed our nature into personal 
union with his divine nature ; and thus, as our Im- 
manuel, executed the offices of prophet, priest, and 
king. His great salvation is applied by his word, and 
ministry, and Spirit ; the blessings of which, bestowed 

* Revelation v. 13. 



REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 237 

on unnumbered millions of our race, are eternal hap- 
piness and endless glory. Its result is the highest 
glory of God, and a vast increase of happiness to all 
intelligent and holy beings. Such is the representa- 
tion of the work given in the Bible ; is it not worthy 
of God } and is it not seen, in its own light, to be his 
work ? Was not the conception of this plan far be- 
yond the reach of the human mind ? 

Man had four thousand years in which to contrive 
a scheme of salvation, and what was the work of his 
philosophy and learning ? What could man offer as 
an atonement for his sins? Slaughtered animals, and 
costly gifts to idol gods. On what did he depend for 
acceptance with God ? On his poor polluted deeds, 
his superficial virtues. The idea of a gratuitous sal- 
vation never entered his mind. He felt indeed the 
need of mercy ; but only as an auxiliary to his own 
works, on the merits of which he still relied. The 
whole history of divine providence could not furnish 
him with evidence, that pardoning mercy was an at- 
tribute of the Divine nature. That God is merciful, 
there were abundant proofs to be seen. No one could 
doubt the truth. But that he can exercise pardoning 
mercy, could not be learned from his dealings with 
our race ; because the last act that terminates his pro- 
vidence in this world, is an awful act of justice, de- 
stroying our mortal frame, and hurrying away our 
souls to judgment. Indeed, as the perfections of God 
are discovered either from his works, or from his re- 
velation, we may believe his holy angels could not 
know pardoning mercy to be an attribute of his na- 
ture, before they had seen it exercised in the forgive- 
ness of sinners, or had received a revelation announc- 
ing to them the cheering and delightful truth. 



238 REDEMPTION GOD's WORK. 

To devise a scheme of redemption was beyond the 
power of the human intellect. To be qualified for 
this would require a full knowledge of all the divine 
perfections^ and the whole extent of evil done by sin 
to God's moral government ; for, without such know- 
ledge, no creature could tell, v/hat punishment the 
honour of his offended majesty, and of his govern- 
ment, required to be inflicted on the transgressor ; or 
by what means divine displeasure might be turned 
away from him, and his sins remitted, consistently 
with the demands of justice, and the stability and 
honour of God's government. 

Much less could man conceive the amazing scheme 
of redemption revealed in the Bible. How could the 
thought enter into his mind, that his offended Sove- 
reign should love guilty, vile, polluted, and rebellious 
creatures so much, as to send his own and well be- 
loved Son into this fallen world, to take upon himself 
the form of a servant, to humble himself, to suffer, and 
to die upon a cross, for the redemption of a lost race 
from deserved punishment, and bestowing on them 
the enjoyment of eternal happiness. In this glorious 
scheme there are displayed such infinite love in the 
Father giving his own Son; such infinite grace in the 
Son, giving himself as a sacrifice ; and such infinite 
condescension in the Holy Spirit, applying salvation 
and dwelling in our polluted hearts, as to place the 
conception of it far beyond the reach of the human 
intellect. The very fact of our possessing the idea, 
proves that it must have been revealed ; so that being 
found in the Bible expanded in all its dimensions and 
parts, from the first incipient discovery of the scheme 
to its execution and progress towards its final con- 
summation, it evinces the Bible to contain a revelation 



239 

from God. There is another view of this wondrous 
scheme that leads us to the same conclusion. We 
have seen that the person of our Redeemer is divine 
and that he unites in his own person both the human 
and the divine natures. This amazing constitution 
of his person qualified him to be our Saviour. As 
man he became subject to the law, and obeyed its 
precepts and suffered its penalty. As God he sus- 
tained his human nature under an immense load of 
punishment, and imparted to his sufferings an infinite 
value ; so as to render what he endured, in a given 
time, equivalent to the everlasting punishment of all 
that shall be redeemed by him. But what mind 
could have formed the conception of such a person, 
thus combining the human and the divine natures, if 
it had not been revealed ? Is it not plain, that, with- 
out a revelation, the conception would have tran- 
scended far the limited powers of the human mind ? 
and is not the record of our Redeemer's person in the 
Bible a conclusive proof of its divine original ? 

The work of redemption, then, like all the other 
works of God, is seen, in its own light, by considering 
its contrivance, development, execution, application, 
benefits and results, and final consummation, to be 
the work of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness. 
The Bible that reveals it, is God's book. He has 
stamped his own image upon its inspired pages. 



240 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE ADAPTATION OF THE BIBLE TO THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF 
FALLEN MAN. 

One of the strongest arguments to prove that the 
world was created and is governed by an infinitely 
wise and benevolent Being, is derived from the num- 
berless and evident marks of design, so apparent in all 
its parts. How plainly does design appear in the 
position of the sun, which imparts light and heat to 
the earth; in the correspondence between the ascend- 
ing vapours and the clouds they form ; between the 
showers of rain and the growth of vegetables; between 
our senses and corresponding objects ; the eye and the 
light ; the ear and sounds ; the taste and food ; between 
the structure of our limbs and the movements they 
perform ! 

The same kind of argument may be used in proving 
the inspiration and authority of the Bible. How 
manifestly adapted is it to the wants and necessities 
of our fallen nature! Let us contemplate the wants 
and necessities of man, and see how effectually and 
admirably the Bible meets and removes them. 

SECTION I. 

THE BIBLE DISPELS THE DARKNESS, AND REMOVES THE IGNORANCE OP 
THE HUMAN MIND IN REGARD TO SPIRITUAL THINGS. 

Fallen as man is, his intellect is still strong and 
vigorous. In the discoveries of science, in the inven- 
tion of the various arts, and in the cultivation of litera- 
ture, its vigour and strength have been displayed. But 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 241 

ill the knowledge of divine things its great weakness 
is mournfully apparent. To be convinced of this 
humbling truth, you are not to look at Christian 
nations, who enjoy the light of divine revelation, the 
reading of the Bible, and the ministry of the gospel, 
by which they have been raised to that enviable con- 
dition in which they rejoice. They know and ac- 
knowledge the true God. They are acquainted with 
the manner in which he is to be worshipped. To 
them the way of salvation has been shown ; immor- 
tality brought to light ; and a future state of rewards 
and punishments made manifest. 

Beyond these favoured nations you must look, and 
contemplate the gloomy condition of heathen nations. 
How different! How deplorable! What darkness 
covers them ! How ignorant are they of the very 
first principles of religion ! They are ignorant of the 
God who made, sustains, and feeds them. Behold 
them prostrating themselves before dumb idols, gods 
of silver and gold, which their own hands have fash- 
ioned. See them worshipping these contemptible 
gods, with unclean and demoralizing rites. Egypt 
had her thirty-thousand gods, and Rome her Pan- 
theon, which was open not only to her own, but to the 
idols of other nations. Some indeed among the an- 
cient heathen " knew God ; but they glorified him not 
as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in 
their imaginations, and their foolish heart was dark- 
ened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became 
fools ; and changed the glory of the incorruptible God 
into an image made like to corruptible man, and to 
birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things.^^^ 
All the ancient philosophers degraded themselves; by 

* Romans i. 21—23. 
21 



242 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

complying with the prevaiUng idolatry, and thus keep- 
ing the common people in their stupid ignorance* 
Even Socrates, the divine Socrates as he has been 
styled by admiring infidels, directed that a cock should, 
after his death, be sacrificed to Esculapius. In his 
last moments, instead of committing his soul to a faith- 
ful Creator, he placed it under the protection of an 
idol-god, who could neither hear his prayers, nor af- 
ford him help. He died, offering by his stupid idola- 
try, a gross insult to the true God. 

Ignorant of God, the heathen are ignorant of his 
law. Its great principles are indeed written on their 
hearts; so that they feel the workings of an accusing 
and excusing conscience. Still, however, their moral 
sense is sadly perverted. They are ignorant of many 
of their moral obligations. Blinded by sin, they often 
call evil good, and good evil. Of the manner in 
which God is to be worshipped they are entirely igno- 
rant. The grave is shrouded in darkness. Not a ray 
of light is seen in the dark valley of death. The 
future world is entirely unknown. At death the 
heathen man plunges into a dark and avv^ful abyss. 

Such is the ignorance of all heathen people. Our 
condition would have been as dark and gloomy as 
theirs, had not God in mercy given us the Bible. To 
its luminous and inspired pages we owe it that we 
differ from them so greatly. The light beaming 
around our path came, not from human reason, but 
from divine revelation. From our infancy we have 
been pupils of the Bible. Through every period of 
life it has followed us with its heavenly instruction. 
How sublime its lessons in religion! It has taught 
us that there is but one only living and true God ; the 
Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost : three divine per- 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 243 

sons in one Godhead, the same in substance, equal in 
power and glory. It has spread before our admiring 
eyes all the infinite perfections and glories that belong 
to Him, as the eternal, independent, and immutable 
One. It has exhibited him to us as the Almighty 
Creator, who laid the foundations of the earth, and 
spread abroad the heavens like a curtain ; as the 
Sovereign Ruler, who upholds and governs all things; 
as the beneficent Benefactor, who opens his hand and 
satisfies tlie wants of every living thing; and as the 
infinitely merciful Redeemer, who has provided salva- 
tion for a rebellious and ungrateful race of creatures. 
It has revealed the law of God, not only in compen- 
dious summaries, but in details of particular duties. It 
has taught us how to approach Infinite Majesty in an 
acceptable manner, and to worship Him in spirit and 
in truth. It has dispelled the darkness and gloom that 
rested on the tomb, and unveiled to the eye of faith 
all the blessedness and glories of the next world. 

But more than external light is reqmred to meet the 
necessity of our case. A man may be familiarly ac- 
quainted with the Holy Scriptures, and collect from 
them a correct, harmonious, and beautiful system of 
theology, and be able to discourse ably and eloquently 
of its heavenly doctrines ; and yet, with all this specu- 
lative knowledge, be in spiritual darkness ; blinded by 
his depravity, so as not to be able to see the beauty 
and excellency of divine truth. " The natural man 
(i. e. the unrenewed man,) receiveth not the things of 
the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: 
neither can he know them ; because they are spiritu- 
ally discerned.'^* The Bible does not overlook this ne- 
cessity of our case. It teaches us how spiritual dark- 

* 1 Cor. ii. 14. 



244 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

iiess can be removed, and how spiritual light may be 
obtained. It leads us to the Holy Spirit, the fountain 
of light, and directs us to implore his gracious assist- 
ance in our extremity. It teaches us to adopt the 
prayer of David : " Open thou mine eyes, that I may 
behold wondrous things out of thy law.^^* It is the 
office-work of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our 
understanding to enable us to discern the beauty and 
excellency of divine truth. When he is pleased to 
illuminate our minds, then the different portions of 
divine truth stand forth to view ; just as the various 
objects of the new created world were seen in all their 
loveliness and proportions, when the Creator com- 
manded the light to shine out of darkness. t The soul 
thus illuminated by, the Spirit finds itself in a new 
world, the objects of which it gazes upon with wonder 
and delight. With ineffable pleasure it looks on the 
cross of Christ, where the glory of God beams forth 
with the brightest splendour. " I thank thee, Father, 
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid 
these things from the wise and prudent, and hast re- 
vealed them unto babes. Even so. Father : for so it 
seemed good in thy sight.'^ " But ye have an unction 
from the Holy OnC; and ye know all things.'^J 



SECTION II. 

MAN IS GUILTY, AND THE BIBLE SHOWS HOW HIS GUILT MAY BE RExMOVED. 

Man has committed innumerable violations of God's 
holy law ; and he stands condemned by that law to 
suffer its tremendous penalty. Awakened to a sense 
of his guilt, the sinner will, under the pungency of 

* Ps. cxix. 18. t 2 Cor. iv. 6. t Malt. xi. 25. 1 John ii. 20. 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 245 

deep convictions, exclaim, in the language of the 
prophet, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, 
and bow myself before the high God? shall I come 
before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year 
old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of 
rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall 
I give my first born for my transgression, the fruit 
of my body for the sin of my soul ?'^ How vain all 
the efforts of man to extricate himself from his over- 
whelming difficulties! How contemptible all his of- 
ofierings to atone for his sins ! God, his offended 
Sovereign, alone can deliver the wretched transgres- 
sor. We have seen that He has provided an ample 
atonement. He "so loved the world that he gave 
Ills only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'^ 
" The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from 
all sin ;'' for "he is the propitiation for our sins, and 
not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world."* 
Hence the apostle was authorized to say to the anxious 
and convicted jailor, who, trembling with anguish, fell 
down before Paul and Silas, and said, " Sirs, what 
must I do to be saved?'' "Believe on the Lord Je- 
sus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." 
Such is the sovereign efficacy of theRedeemer'sblood 
in taking away sin and all its fearful consequences, 
that the same apostle affirms, " There is therefore now 
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, 
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." 
To him let every convicted sinner (the chief of sin- 
ners not excepted) come for deliverance from his 
heavy burden of guilt ; for, says Paul, " This is a faith- 
ful saying, and Avorthy of all acceptation, that Christ 

* Micah vi, 6, 7. John iii. 16. 1 John i. 7 ; ii. 2. 
21* 



246 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom 
I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, 
that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long 
suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter 
believe on him to life everlasting.'^* 

SECTION III. 

TUE BIBLE FURNISHES THE BELIEVER WITH THAT PERFECT AND SINLESS 
RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH THE LAW OF GOD DEMANDS, AND OF WHICH SIN- 
FUL MAN IS UTTERLY DESTITUTE. 

Man was created m the image of his Maker, in 
righteousness and true holiness. His heart was free 
from every moral stain, and filled with love to his 
Creator. The law under which he was placed requir- 
ed him to preserve his moral purity, and to continue 
in love to God ; and, as a test of his obedience, he 
was commanded to abstain from the fruit of only one 
tree, in that beautiful garden planted and adorned for 
his residence. He fell where he had full power to 
stand ; he failed in that obedience which he had am- 
ple ability to render. On fallen man the law acquired 
a new demand ; satisfaction for the dishonour done to 
its authority by his sin. That the law urges this de- 
mand on all his fallen descendants, is perfectly plain 
from Holy Scripture ; '' for it is written. Cursed is 
every one that continueth not in all things which are 
written in the book of the law to do them.^^t The 
conscience of every awakened sinner admits the truth 
and the justice of this demand. 

But, let it not be forgotten, that this new claim of 
the law for satisfaction for disobedience, did not set 
aside the original claim for perfect obedience. By no 
means ; that claim remains in all its primitive force. 

* Acts xvL 28-31. Rom. viii. 1, 1 Tim. i. 15, 16. t Gal. iii. 10, 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 217 

The law is not relaxed in its demands to accommo- 
date itself to the feebleness and depravity of our fallen 
nature. It prefers to us depraved creatures the same 
claims that it presented to our first parents, when they 
stood robed in innocence, and with hearts glowing 
with the warmest love and gratitude to their Creator. 
The language of the law is now the same that it was 
from its first announcement: "Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and 
great commandment. And the second is like unto it, 
Thou shalt love tliy neighbour as thyself. On these 
two commandments hang all the law and the pro- 
phets.''* Nothing more than this can be required. 
Here is perfection. Sin is incompatible with such 
love. Were this love reigning in our hearts, there 
could be no defect in our temper or conduct. We 
should act and feel towards our fellow creatures, just 
as we ought to feel and act ; and we should render 
unto God that devout homage and spotless service, 
which we ought to render. 

A perfect, sinless righteousness, then, be it remem- 
bered, is now, as it ever was, demanded from all 
men. Without such a righteousness no man ever did, 
or ever will enter into heaven. But can sinful men 
furnish this righteousness ; and, arrayed in such spot- 
less robes, go to the throne of their Judge, and claim 
the promised reward? By no means. A clear 
stream cannot flow from a polluted fountain. A sin- 
ner cannot be a righteous man on the ground of his 
own works. Hence the irresistible conclusion of the 
sacred writer, "Therefore by the deeds of the law 
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the 

* Matt. xxii. 37-=40. 



248 THE BIBLE ADABTED TO 

law is the knowledge of sin/''^ The law that con- 
victs a man of sin can never pronounce him righteous, 
or, in other words, declare him to be free from sin. 
The Jews made the vain attempt to justify themselves 
on the footing of their own obedience : for of them the 
apostle speaks, when he says, " For they being igno- 
rant of God^s righteousness, and going about to estab- 
lish their own righteousness, have not submitted them- 
selves unto the righteousness of God/'t Many have 
imitated their example. Refusing to accept the gra- 
tuitous method of justification revealed in the Bible, 
they have, in the pride of their hearts, relied on their 
own worthless righteousness for acceptance with God, 
and obtaining eternal life. Of course they have fail- 
ed, and lost the prize. Man has not, nor can he work 
out, a righteousness sufficient to justify him in the 
sight of a holy God. Here he is a helpless creature. 

The Bible meets this necessity, and offers us ample 
relief. It exhibits the spotless, finished righteousness 
which the great Redeemer wrought out, not for him- 
self, but for us. This is called the righteousness of 
God, as in the passage quoted above, and in other 
places. It is thus denominated, for several reasons; 
because it was devised, revealed, offered, and is ac- 
cepted by God, and was wrought out by his Son, who 
is God. The necessity and the bearing of this right- 
eousness on our salvation, will appear from the follow- 
ing texts : " But now the righteousness of God with- 
out the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law 
and the prophets; even the righteousness of God, 
which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all 
them that believe : for there is no difference, for all 
have sinned; and come short of the glory of God; being 

* Romans iii= 20o t Romans x= , 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 249 

justified freely by his grace through the redemption 
that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to 
be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare 
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, 
through the forbearance of God : to declare, I say, at 
this time his righteousness ; that he might be just, and 
the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.'^* 

That the righteousness spoken of is the righteous- 
ness of Christ, is evident; for it comes to believers 
through faith in him: and it will appear more evident 
from other passages. ^^Yea doubtless, and I count all 
things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of 
Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the 
loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I 
may win Christ, and be found in him, not having 
mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that 
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness 
which is of God by faith.^^ "For Christ is the end 
of the law for righteousness to every one that believ- 
eth.'^ The scope of the law is to lead sinners to 
Christ for righteousness. " For he hath made him to 
be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might be 
made (become) the righteousness of God in him.'^ 
2 Cor. iii. 21. "For if Abraham were justified by 
works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 
For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed 
God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned 
of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, 
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his 
faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David 
also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom 
God imputeth righteousness without works; saying, 

* Romans iii. 21 — 26. 



250 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and 
whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom 
the Lord will not impute sin.^^ '^Jind being fully per- 
suaded that what he had promised, he was able also to 
perform. And therefore it was imputed unto him for 
righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake 
alone, that it was imputed to him ; but for us also, to 
whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that 
raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead ; who was de- 
hvered for our offences, and was raised for our justifi- 
cation.''"^ 

Let it be observed that Christ is exhibited in tliese 
passages as the great object of faith ; that we are jus- 
tified freely by grace through his redemption ; that he 
is the end of the law for righteousness to every be- 
hever ; that Paul counted all things but loss for the 
knowledge of him, and desired above all things to be 
found in him, having that righteousness which is 
through the faith of Christ : that we are made, (be- 
come) the righteousness of God in him; and it will 
be seen, that, when it is said that faith is imputed, 
(counted,) for righteousness, we are not to understand 
the sacred writer as teaching that faith, as a work, is 
our righteousness; for he excludes all works of our 
own from the ground of our justification ; and it would 
be absurd to regard a single work as the ground of 
our justification, when all others are rejected. Faith 
is merely the bond of our union with Christ, which 
gives us an interest in all his merits ; the hand that 
accepts his righteousness for our justification : and 
in this sense it is counted or imputed to us for right- 
eousness. A deed for a large tract of land might be 
set down as one portion of a man's wealth; although 

* Phil. iii. 8, 9. Rom. X. 4 ; iv. 2—8, 21-25. 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 251 

it is not the deed, but the possession of the land that 
really constitutes his wealth. So faith is set down as 
a believer's righteousness, and justifies him ; not be- 
cause it really constitutes his justifying righteousness, 
but because it accepts and appropriates the righteous- 
ness of Christ for which he is justified. Here is the 
righteousness by which, as a glorious robe, the be- 
liever is covered and adorned. This hides all his sins; 
and for this righteousness God can justify him, and 
yet be just, while he declares an ungodly man right- 
eous; not righteous in himself considered, but con- 
sidered as united to Christ by faith, and having on 
his glorious righteousness, that has fulfilled all the 
demands of the law, and purchased for him eternal 
life. " The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus 
Christ." " Where sin abounded, grace did much 
more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, 
even so might grace reign, through righteousness, 
unto eternal hfe, by Jesus Christ our Lord."* 

All this accords with the great principle of repre- 
sentation, which God was pleased to adopt in his 
dealings with our race from the beginning. So we 
are taught to believe by the apostle, who says, " For 
as by one man's disobedience many were made sin- 
ners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made 
righteous."t 

SECTION IV. 

THE BIBLE PROVIDES FOR THE DELIVERANCE OP THE BELIEVER. 

4. That we are not what we ought to be, none will 
deny. But while men are ready to admit the exist- 
ence of the disease, few are aware of its fatal charac- 

* Rom. vi.23; v. 20, 21. t lb. v. 19. 



252 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

ter. In fact no book ever described it fully and cor- 
rectly, but the book of God ; who thoroughly knows 
the human heart, and all its windings and workings. 
There we find a lamentable description of its dreadful 
depravity. 

Moses writing the history of the antediluvians, 
says, " And God saw that the wickedness of man was 
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the 
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.'' And 
after the deluge, the reason assigned by God why he 
would not destroy the earth again in the same man- 
ner is this : " For the imagination of man's heart is 
evil from his youth." David, centuries after Moses, 
says of himself, in his penitential confessions, "Behold, 
I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother 
conceive me ;" and of his race he records this sad 
testimony : " The Lord looked down from heaven 
upon the children of men, to see if there were any 
that did understand, and seek God. They are all 
gone aside ; they are all together become filthy : there 
is none that doeth good, no, not one." The prophet 
Jeremiah, four hundred years after David, charac- 
terizes our nature thus : " The heart is deceitful 
above all things, and desperately wicked : who can 
knov/ it?" The apostle Paul entertained the same 
views of human nature ; for he says of Christians, 
" And you hath he quickened who were dead in tres- 
passes and sins; wherein in time past ye walked 
according to the course of this world, according to the 
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now 
worketh in the children of disobedience : among 
whom also we all had our conversation in times past 
in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 253 

flesh and of the mind ; and were by nature the child- 
ren of wrath even as others.'^* 

The Bible is the only book which has given a true 
description of our fallen nature. No man untaught 
by the Spirit of God, could have Avritten on this sub- 
ject, as the sacred Avriters have done. He alone 
knows perfectly the heart of man, and could disclose 
to them its hidden abominations, and the depth of its 
depravity. The description is graphic and is seen to 
be so, by every one whose eyes have been opened to 
discover the secret workings of his own evil heart. 
The finger of God appears in detecting and exposing 
the dreadful disease of our nature ; and it appears too 
in describing the nature of the cure. 

Unenlightened men, sensible in some degree of the 
depravity of man, inculcate the necessity of repentance 
and reformation. Defective in their views of the 
malignity of the disease, they prescribe a cure alto- 
gether inadequate ; just as a physician who, mistaking 
the malady of his patient, applies mild remedies, that 
serve only to allow it to gather strength, and break 
forth with new and greater violence. True, the Bible 
says, "Amend your ways and your doings;'^ and 
^' Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of 
your doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; 
learn to do well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, 
judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.^^ But it 
says more ; it says, " Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; 
and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.'^ "Make 
you a new heart and a new spirit.'' " Jesus answered, 
and said unto him. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he 
cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which 

* Gen. vi. 5 ; viii. 21. Ps. li. 5 ; xiv. 2, 3. Jer. xvii. 9. Eph. ii. 1-3, 

22 



254 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which is born of 
the Spirit is spirit/^ "Awake thou that sleepest,and 
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light/'* 

The cure prescribed in the Bible corresponds with 
the deep and malignant nature of the disease. That 
prescribed by unenlightened reason is totally inade- 
quate. A man may repent and reform ; he may be 
sorry for the evil consequences of his sins, and break 
off" from those that are disreputable and injurious to 
his health or estate : the intemperate man may become 
temperate ; the licentious, chaste ; the fraudulent, 
honest ; the niggardly, liberal ; the passionate, mild ; 
and yet remain under the unbroken dominion of sin, 
destitute of spiritual life, devoid of love to God, and 
at enmity with him ; and consequently unfit for that 
heaven into which the unclean shall not enter. 

But how is this cure to be obtained ? In the pride 
of their heart men may imagine they can effect their 
own cure, whenever they shall determine to put forth 
their native strength. The Bible speaks a different 
language, and lays the pride of man low in the dust. 

Let the reader look at the passages just now quot- 
ed, and he will see, that the new creation of which 
they speak is God's work ; the new heart his gift ; and 
that he alone makes one man to differ from another. 
If therefore, we desire to be cured of the dreadful dis- 
ease of sin, and to live a new life, we must seek the 
necessary blessing from God, by earnest, importunate 
prayer, offered in the name of Jesus our Redeemer. 
We must pray for the gift of his Holy Spirit, that he 
may produce in us a new heart, quicken us to a new 
and holy life ; and that, having begun in us a good 

* Jer. vii. 3. Isa. i. 16, 17. James iv. 8. Ez, xviii. 31, John iii. 5, 6.* 

Eph. V. 4. 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 255 

work, he may carry it on till it be finally consum- 
mated in glory. To encourage such prayer, the Sa- 
viour says, "If ye then being evil, know how to give 
good gifts unto your children ; how much more shall 
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them 
that ask him ?^^* 



SECTION V. 

THE BIBLE INSPIRES THE BELIEVER WITH A FIRM AND UNWAVERING 
BELIEF OF AN OVERRULING PROVIDENCE. 

Reason is sufficient to lead to the reception of this 
great truth. The belief of it lies at the foundation of 
all religious worship. But reason is not sufficient to 
sustain the mind against those shocks of unbelief, 
which arise from daily occurrences. We look abroad 
and see what may call up the question, Does infinite 
wisdom and impartial justice preside over the affairs 
of mortals? Vice triumphs, and virtue is depressed; 
piety mourns, while impiety rejoices; the oppressor 
tramples on the rights of the widow and the father- 
less. Does God behold these scenes, and not inter- 
pose his mighty hand to correct such disorders ? A 
thought like this, is sometimes painful to a good man. 
Asaph, under its pressure, was tempted to say, ^^ Verily, 
I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my 
hands in innocencyl'^t 

The Bible comes to the relief of the tempted and 
doubting believer, by the clear and strong manner in 
which it asserts the great and consoling truth. " The 
Lord reigneth ; let the earth rejoice ; let the multitudes 
of the isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are 

* Ezek. xxxvi. 25—27. John i. 12, 13. Eph. ii. 10. Luke xi. 13. 
t Psalm Ixxiii. 13. 



256 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

round about him : righteousness and judgment are the 
habitation of his throne/^* With what inimitable 
beauty and force does the Redeemer teach the extent 
of divine providence ! " Take no thought for your 
hfe what ye shall eat ; neither for the body what ye 
shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the 
body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens : for 
they neither sow nor reap ; which neither have store- 
house nor barn ; and God feedeth them. How much 
better are ye than the fowls? And which of you 
with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit ? 
If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, 
why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the 
lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; 
and yet I say unto, that Solomon in all his glory, was 
not arrayed like one of these. If then God so 
clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to- 
morrow is cast into the oven; how much more shall 
he clothe you, ye of little faith ? — And seek not ye 
what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye 
of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations 
of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth 
that ye have need of these things. But rather seek 
ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shallbe 
added unto you.'^t 

Further, the Bible not only asserts, in language so 
strong and emphatic, the certainty and the extent of 
divine providence, but cautions us to guard against 
the unbelief, springing from occurrences that God is 
pleased, for wise reasons, to allow to come to pass. 
'^ Fret not thyself because of evil doers ; neither be 
thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For 
they shall soon be cut down hke the grass, and wither 

* Psalm xcvii. 1, 2. tLuke xii. 23—30. 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 257 

as the green herb. Trust in the Lord^ and do good ; 
so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt 
be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall 
give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way 
unto the Lord ; and he shall bring it to pass. And he 
shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and 
thy judgment as the noon day. Rest in the Lord, and 
wait patiently for him : fret not thyself because of him 
who prospereth in his way, because of the man who 
bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, 
and forsake wrath : fret not thyself in any wise to do 
evil. For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that 
wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For 
yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be : yea, 
thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall 
not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth ; and 
shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.^'"^ 

Asaph tells us how he was delivered from his un- 
believing and perplexing thought. He went into the 
sanctuary of God : he saw their end ; and exclaimed ; 
*^ surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou 
castest them down into destruction. How are they 
brought into desolation as in a moment ! they are 
utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one 
awaketh; so Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt 
despise their image.^^t 

How salutary and consoling these admonitions ! 
How encouraging to a cheerful and confiding trust in 
divine providence! In darkness the believer has 
light. In circumstances the most appalling to others 
he has reason to rejoice. Faith in the doctrines and 
promises of the Holy Scriptures certainly authorizes 
the adoption of the language of the prophet : " Al- 

* Psalm xxxvii. 1—11. t lb. kxiii. 18—20. 

22* 



258 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

though the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall 
fruit be found in the vine ; the labour of the olive shall 
fail, and the field shall yield no meat ; the flocks shall 
be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in 
the stalls : yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in 
the God of my salvation.'^* 

SECTION VI. 

THE BIBLE FURNISHES THE BELIEVER WITH SUPPORT AND CONSOLATION 
UNDER AFFLICTIONS. 

Afflictions are the sad inheritance of the human 
family. "Although affliction cometh not forth of the 
dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 
yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly up- 
wards.'^! None can escape afflictions. Placed in 
such circumstances a wise man will look out for sources 
of support and consolation. What can reason say to 
the afflicted? Afflictions are to be expected. They 
come upon all. We must submit. Impatience will 
only increase their pain. How superior the consola- 
tions of the Bible ! Hear its instructions and assur- 
ances. " For the Lord will not cast off" for ever: but 
though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, 
according to the multitude of his mercies. For he 
doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of 
men.'^ "My son, despise not thou the chastening of 
the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him : 
for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourg- 
eth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chas- 
tening, God dealeth with you as sons ; for what son is 
he whom the father chasteneth not ? But if ye be 
without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then 

* Hab. iii. 17, 18. t Job v. 6, 7. 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 259 

are ye bastards and not sons. Furthermore we have 
had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we 
gave them reverence : shall we not much rather be 
in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 
For they verily for a few days chastened us after their 
own pleasure ; but he for our profit, that we might be 
partakers of his holiness.^'* 

As afiiictions come from the love which God bears 
to his people, so they are moderated and accommoda- 
ted to their weakness. "In measure when it shoot- 
eth forth, thou wilt debate with it : he stayeth his 
rough wind in the day of the east wind.'^ " Like as 
a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them 
that fear him. For he knoweth our frame ; he re- 
membereth that we are but dust.'^ God is faithful, 
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye 
are able : but will with the temptation also make a 
way to escape that ye may be able to bear it.^'t 

Afflictions too are beneficial. " Now no chasten- 
ing for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous : 
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit 
of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby.^^ 
" And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also : 
knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; and pa- 
tience experience ; and experience hope; and hope 
maketh not ashamed ; because the love of God is shed 
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is 
given unto us.'^ "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though 
now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness 
through manifold temptations : that the trial of your 
faith, being much more precious than gold that perish- 
eth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto 

* Lam. iii. 31—33. Heb. xii. 5—10. 

t Isaiah xxvii. 8. Fs. ciii. 13, 14. 1 Cor. x. 13. 



260 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

praise and honour and glory at the appearmg of Jesus 
Christ. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall 
hito divers temptations ; knowing that the trying of 
your faith worketh patience. But let patience have 
her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, 
wanting nothing.^^* 

The righteous shall be delivered out of all their 
afflictions, and obtain a glorious reward for their 
patient endurance. " The Lord knoweth how to de- 
liver the ungodly out of temptations, and to reserve 
the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.^^ 
^' Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver 
thee, and thou shalt glorify me.^^ " For all things are 
for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through 
the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of 
God. For which cause we faint not ; for though our 
outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed 
day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for 
a moment, worketh out for us a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory: while we look not at the 
things which are seen, but at the things which are not 
seen : for the things which are seen are temporal ; 
but the things which are not seen are eternal.'^t 

SECTION VII. 

THE BIBLE DELIVERS THE BELIEVER FROM THE FEAR OF DEATH, AND 
INSPIRES HIM WITH THE HOPE OF A BLESSED IMMORTALITY. 

A man endowed with constitutional courage, may 
in the field of battle, brave death. But reason, though 
aided by strong and iron nerves, can deliver no man 
from the fear of death. Death is the king of terrors; 

* Heb. xii. 11. Rom. v. 2, 3. 1 Pet. i. 6, 7. James i. 2—4. 
t 2 Pet. ii. 9. Ps. 1. 15. 2 Cor. iv. 15—18. 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 261 

and when he advances towards us, on a sick bed, 
with sure and steady steps, the bravest, unsupported 
by the hope of the gospel, will secretly quake, even 
while they affect an outward tranquillity, to hide fronri 
others their inward fears. Nothing but the gospel of 
Jesus Christ can strip death of its terrors, and inspire a 
dying man with a heavenly triumph in the final con- 
flict. This the gospel can do; and it has done it in 
innumerable instances. One design of the death of 
Christ was to free his disciples from the distressing 
fear of death. So the author of the epistle to the He- 
brews teaches us : " Forasmuch then as the childrea 
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself like- 
wise took part of the same ; that through death he 
might destroy him that had the power of death, that 
is the devil ; and deliver them who through fear of 
death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.'^"^ 
Death is the wages of sin; and as Satan tempted our 
first parents to sin, and brought death into our world, 
so he obtained the empire of death, and rejoices in its 
destructive ravages. Christians must die like other 
men ; but the nature of death is changed as to them. 
He comes to them as an angel of light, to deliver them 
from the calamities and sins of this life, and not as the 
king of terrors, to hurry them away to the place of 
torment. Believing in Christ their sins are all par- 
doned ; his blood has cleansed them from all their 
guilt. They are also delivered from the law (which 
is the strength of sin) as a covenant of works, though 
not as a rule of life: being no longer under obligation 
to obey the law with a view to merit the favour of 
God; for this has been secured to them by the obedi- 
ence of the Redeemer : but they observe it, because 

* Hebrews ii. 14, 15. 



262 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO 

they delight in it, and present their obedience to God, 
as a testimonial of love and gratitude to him for his 
redeeming love.* In these circumstances believers 
are authorized to indulge a well founded hope of hap- 
piness in the next world. " Being justified by faith 
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ, by whom we have access into' this grace 
wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of 
God.^^ "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to 
shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of 
his counsel, confirmed it by an oath ; that by two im- 
mutable things, in which it was impossible for God to 
lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled 
for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us: 
which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both 
sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within 
the veil ; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even 
Jesus made an high priest after the order of Melchi- 
zedec.^^ Being thus justified by faith, having peace 
with God, and enjoying so sure and stable a hope, the 
Christian has no reason to fear death ; but confiding 
in the merits of his blessed Redeemer, and relying on 
his grace, he may welcome death, and sing the 
triumphant song: " death, where is thy sting? 
grave, where is thy victory ? For the sting of death 
is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks 
be to God, which giveth us the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ.^'t 

Believers need not fear to enter the next world ; 
for there their Saviour reigns, and has prepared man- 
sions for them. How cheering his language on this 
subject ! " In my Father's house are many mansions : 
if it were not so, I would have told you ; I go to pre- 

* Rom. vii. 4, 6. t lb. v. 1, 2. Heb. vi. 17—20. 1 Cor. xv. 55—57. 



THE WANTS AND NECESSITIES OF MAN. 263 

pare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a 
place, I will come again, and receive you to myself, 
that where I am ye may be also.^^ Nor need they 
fear the judgment ; for the Judge will be their friend. 
He will place them on his right hand ; and at the close 
of the judgment he Avill say to them, ^' Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you, from the foundation of the world.'^ " The 
righteous shall go away into life eternal. ^^* 

Thus we have seen how adapted the Bible is to the 
wants and necessities of our fallen nature. It has 
dispelled the darkness, and removed the ignorance 
that rests upon heathen minds, in regard to spiritual 
things; and it provides for that spiritual illumination, 
which is as necessary as an external revelation. We 
are guilty, and liable to condemnation by that holy 
law which we have violated ; but the Bible assures 
us, that, by believing in Christ, we shall receive full 
remission, and be delivered from condemnation. We 
are destitute of that perfect righteousness, without 
which there is no admission into heaven ; but the 
Bible furnishes us with the spotless and finished right- 
eousness of the Redeemer, which is given to all who 
believe and accept the all-gracious offer. We are 
deeply depraved, and destitute of spiritual life ; but 
the Bible teaches us how we may obtain spiritual life, 
how our corruptions may be subdued and mortified, 
and how a work of sanctification may be begun, and 
carried on, till it be perfected in glory. The Bible is 
the only book which has given a true description of 
depraved human nature ; the only book which teaches 
the full and radical cure of the dreadful malady, and 

* John xiv. 2, 3. Matt, xxiv, 33, 34, 46. 



264 THE BIBLE ADAPTED TO, ETC. 

where that cure is to be found, and how it is to be 
applied. We need to have our minds firmly and un- 
waveringly settled in the belief of an overruling pro- 
vidence ; and the Bible produces this desirable belief. 
We need support and consolation under afflictions ; 
and the Bible supplies us with ample support and rich 
consolation. We need deliverance from the fear of 
death, and the hope of a blessed immortality in the 
coming world; and the Bible affords this deliverance, 
and inspires this blessed hope. 

How admirably is the Bible adapted to our wants 
and necessities, as fallen, sinful, and miserable crea- 
tures ! What palpable marks of design in its provi- 
sions, and what bright displays of wisdom in its doc- 
trines ! Is it not God's book? Does it not bear the 
impress of his image ? Who but infinite Wisdom 
could have devised a scheme so suited to our condi- 
tion, and so full of hope and blessedness to fallen 
man ? An intelligent man, a legal character, one of 
the judges of Pennsylvania, who had been inclined to 
scepticism, said, on his dying bed, to the writer, "The 
doctrines taught in your church, are not the doctrines 
of man. They are too full of wisdom to be the pro- 
duction of the human mind. They came from infinite 
wisdom. They are divine. ^^ And so will every one 
say who studies the Bible, and desires to know the 
truth. 



INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE, ETC. 265 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE. 

The influence of the Bible on the character and hap- 
piness of man, is most salutary and powerful. It is 
felt on all his relations, and on human society in all 
its forms. The consideration of this subject will fur- 
nish another evidence of the heavenly origin of the 
sacred Scriptures. 

SECTION I. 

INFLUENCE IN FORMING MAN'S CHARACTER. 

The Bible contemplates man as a fallen, sinful, and 
miserable being; alienated from God, and lying under 
the condemnatory sentence of his violated law. To 
recover him from this deplorable condition, it begins 
its benevolent work, by calling him to repentance and 
faith. In preaching his gospel, the Redeemer said, 
" The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at 
hand : repent ye, and believe the gospel.^^* To lead 
sinners to repentance, the Bible sets before them that 
most holy law which they have broken, in all its spir- 
ituality and extent, and thunders out that terrible curse 
by which its honour is guarded. It reveals the ma- 
jesty and grandeur, the holiness and justice, the power 
and jealousy of that Lawgiver, whom the sinner has 
dared to insult. It tells him how deeply he has be- 
come depraved ; that he has lost every spark of holi- 

* Mark i. 15. 
23 



266 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE 

ness and spiritual life, and is so enslaved by sin, that 
he cannot deliver himself from its dreadful bondage ; 
and yet it continually sounds in his ears the great 
command, "Repent, and believe the gospel/' 

When the sinner is awakened, and becomes sensi- 
ble that he cannot save himself, and feels constrained 
to put forth the anxious inquiry of the Philippian 
jailor, "What must I do to be saved?'' the Bible 
gives the same reply which Paul gave to that convicted 
heathen, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
shalt be saved." And to encourage him to believe, 
it discourses to him of the character and offices, of the 
work and sufficiency of the great Redeemer, of his 
love and compassion. It addresses to him the tender 
invitation of Christ, " Come unto me all ye that labour 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ;" and 
the assurance, " wherefore he is able also to save 
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him ; 
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."^ 
When he is oppressed with a sense of utter unworthi- 
ness, it discovers the entire freeness of the gospel, and 
that no merit is required of the sinner : "' Ho, every one 
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath 
no money ; come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come, buy 
wine and milk, without money, and without price." 
" And the Spirit and the bride, say, Come. And let 
him that heareth say, Come. And whosoever will, let 
him take of the water of life freely." " This is a 
faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; of 
whom I am chief " "He is the propitiation for our 
sins ; and not for ours only but for the sins of the 

* Matt. xi. S8, Heb. vii. 25. 



IN FORMING THE CHARACTER. 267 

whole world/'"^ Still further, to relieve his weakness 
and helplessness, the Bible tells the desponding sinner, 
that as faith is the gift of God, he may implore this 
gift from God, and beseech him to work it in his 
heart. t 

Believing in Christ, the sinner now most heartily 
repents. In the cross he sees the odious and malig- 
nant nature of sin ; his heart breaks, and melts with- 
in him; he feels the operations of that ^^ godly sorrow 
that worketh repentance unto salvation not to be re- 
pented of.^^l 

Having repented and believed on Christ, the sinner 
is freely forgiven. All his sins are blotted out. He 
is reconciled unto God, and fully restored to his favour 
and friendship. Placed in this state of gracious ac- 
ceptance, freed from condemnation, and rejoicing in 
God, he cannot but exclaim from the fulness of a grate- 
ful heart, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all 
his benefits towards me V^ In reply the Bible presses 
on him the great commandment, which requires us to 
love God supremely with all our powers ; and directs 
him to contemplate his glory shining in creation and 
providence, and especially in redemption, that he may 
see how infinitely lovely are the perfections of God, 
and how infinitely worthy he is of the warmest and 
most ardent affections of the human heart. It ad- 
dresses him in the language of Paul : " Likewise 
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, 
but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should 
obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your 
members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin : 

* Isa. Iv. 1. Rev. xxii. 17. 1 Tim. i. 15. 1 John ii. 2. 

t Eph. ii. 8. X 2 Cor. vii. 10. 



268 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE 

but yield yourselves unto God as those that are ahve 
from the dead, and your members as instruments of 
righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have do- 
minion over you : for ye are not under the law, but 
under grace.'^ "What ! know ye not that your body 
is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, 
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 
For ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify God 
in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.'^ 
" For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth 
to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the 
Lord ; and whether Ave die, we die unto the Lord : 
whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. 
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, 
that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.'^ 
" Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever 
ye do, do all to the glory of God.''* 

Thus distinctly is set before the penitent believer 
the great end of his being and existence, the glory of 
God; and he feels, that to promote this end he is 
sacredly bound to spend his time, to employ all his 
powers and influence, and to arrange all his aff'airs. 
In commencing this work, he feels constrained to 
make an open and public profession of religion. He 
cannot leave it any longer in doubt where he stands, 
whether on the Lord's side, or on that of the world. 
Assuming the requisite courage, he breaks through 
all opposition in doing the necessary act of renounc- 
ing the world, and of declaring himself a disciple and 
follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He does it by par- 
ticipating in that special ordinance instituted for this 
purpose, and to be a badge of discipleship. 

* Rom. vi. 11-14. 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. Rom. xiv. 7-9, 1 Cor. x.31. 



IN FORMING THE CHARACTER. 269 

Thus devoted to God, and reconciled to him through 
Jesus Christ, the believing Christian will carefully at- 
tend to the discharge of all the duties which he owes 
to God. Mere outward homage, whether shown in 
family or public worship, will not satisfy his conscience. 
He knows that God claims the worship of the heart : 
for the Redeemer has said, " God is a Spirit : and they 
that worship him must worship him in spirit and in 
truth. ^^ He will therefore cherish and cultivate that 
reverential fear, that submission to the divine will, 
that trust in the care and protection of God, that de- 
light in him, that holy love, which the Scriptures re- 
quire. Sustaining the relation of a son to God, he will 
endeavour to feel and act in a way, that will corres- 
pond to this endearing and ennobling relation. In his 
private devotions he will try to make that near ap- 
proach to God which he graciously allows to his chil- 
dren, by entering into the holiest of all, '' through 
the rent veil, the flesh of Christ ;'^ and there, with filial 
boldness and believing confidence, chastened with 
profound reverence, to converse with infinite Majesty, 
seated on the mercy seat, and implore for himself and 
others all needed blessings. He will not forget what 
the Saviour said, " They are not of the world, even 
as I am not of the world ;" but will endeavour to 
furnish a convincing proof of its truth, by a practical 
regard to the apostolic exhortation : " Be not con- 
formed to this world : but be ye transformed by the 
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is 
that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.'^"^ 

There are personal duties inculcated in the Bible. 
By disposing a Christian to the practice of these, it 

* Heb. iv. 14-16 ; ix. 8, John xvii. 16. Rom. xii, 3. 

23* 



270 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE 

carries on the formation of his character. To remark 
that it prohibits the violation of the marriage bed, and 
all sexual intercourse not sanctified by the marriage 
contract, would be saying little in favour of its pure 
morality. It goes much further ; it condemns those 
secret desires and lusts which the morality of the 
world overlooks. " Ye have heard that it was said 
by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adul- 
tery: but I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on 
a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery 
with her already in his heart.'^* Thus the Bible 
forms a chaste character, by enjoining as a duty, the 
suppression of the first rising of lustful desire. 

Temperance, as taught in the Bible, does indeed 
say, '' Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your 
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunken- 
ness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon 
you unawares.'^! But it demands much more. It 
teaches us in eating and drinking to use no more than 
the proper nourishment of our physical frame may 
require ; not to take any quantity that would impede 
the due operations of the mind. Taught by the holy 
Scriptures, a Christian will, if he sees that he can pro- 
mote the best interests of others, and save the intem- 
perate, abstain from the use of all intoxicating liquors 
as a beverage. J 

That industry is commended and commanded in 
the Scriptures, is well known to all who read the 
Bible. But while we attend diligently to the busi- 
ness of our calling, we are to prosecute it without anx- 
iety ; leaving it with God our heavenly Father, to 

* Matt. V. 28. ' t Luke xxi. 34. 

I Rom. xiv. 20, 21. 1 Cor. viii. 13. 



IN FORMING THE CHARACTER. 271 

dispose of our affairs as his infinite wisdom may judge 
best.^ 

Contentment with our lot and circumstances is es- 
pecially required as a duty in the Bible. "Let your 
conversation be without covetousness ; and be content 
with such things as ye have : for he hath said, I will 
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'^ A Christian 
may be poor, and thus be led to fear he may not ob- 
tain his daily food; but the Saviour says, "Seek not 
ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither 
be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the 
nations of the world seek after : and your Father 
knoweth that ye have need of these things/' And 
his apostle says, "Godliness with contentment is great 
gain.'^t 

The Bible reminds us that our life on earth is a pil- 
grimage, that we are "sojourners as were all our 
fathers :'' and on this ground we are directed to " set 
our affections on things above, and not on things on 
the earth ;'' " looking for that blessed hope, and the 
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ.'^t 

Finally ; universal purity is enjoined by the Bible. 
" Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let 
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh 
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.''§ 

In regard to the duties we owe to others, were we 
to present all the details which are found in the Bible, 
the quotations would become tedious. Only one or 
two general rules will be noticed. There is that com- 
prehensive one which enlists our selfishness on the 
side of others, and sheds so clear a light on our path : 

* Phil. iv. 6, 7. t Heb. xiii. 5. Luke xii. 29, 30. 1 Tim. vi. 6, 

t 1 Chron. xxix. 15. Col. iii. 2. § 2 Cor. vii. 1. 



272 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE 

" Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men 
should do to you, do ye even so to them.'^ Justly is 
this denominated the Saviour's golden rule. But no 
mere outward performance of duties, however suffi- 
cient to satisfy the claims of the world's code, will 
satisfy those of the Bible. This sacred book requires 
a right state of feeling, as well as a right train of 
action, towards our neighbour. " Thou shalt love 
thy neighbour as thyself, is the second great com- 
mand." By that inimitable parable concerning the 
good Samaritan, our Saviour has taught us who is 
our neighbour ; that the term comprehends all sects 
and nations ; and that our love is to be withheld from 
none, but extended even to our enemies. " But I say 
unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse 
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
them which despitefully use you, and persecute 
you; that ye may be the children of your Father 
which is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on 
the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just 
and on the unjust."^ 

Among Christians there exists a peculiar relation. 
United to Christ by faith they form one body, and are 
members of the same family, in whom dwells the same 
divine Spirit. Duties corresponding to this near and 
endearing relation, are enjoined in the Bible. "A 
new commandment," said Jesus, ^^ I give unto you, 
that ye love one another, as I have loved you." This 
duty is repeatedly urged by his apostles. " Let bro- 
therly love continue," says Paul ; and Peter, " Love 
as brethren ;" and John, " This is his commandment, 
that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus 
Christ, and love one another, as he gave us command- 

* Luke X. 25^37. Mat. v. 44, 45. 



IN FORMING THE CHARACTER. 273 

ment." Brotherly love is, by the Redeemer, exhi- 
bited as the badge of discipleship : "By this shall all 
men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love 
one to another:'^ and by his apostle John, as an evi- 
dence of regeneration : " We know that we have 
passed from death unto life, because we love the 
brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in 
death.'' So strong should this love be as to render us 
willing, when called to the sacrifice by divine provi- 
dence, " to lay down our lives for the brethren.''* 

Such is the character which the Bible impresses more 
or less upon all who sincerely and cordially believe 
its heavenly truths. By its powerful influence on 
their minds and hearts, they are inclined to cultivate 
the graces, and to practise the duties we have noticed. 
Is not this truly a lovely and excellent character ? 
What a delightful summary of Christian duties in one 
comprehensive sentence has Paul given ! " Finally, 
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever 
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatso- 
ever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely ; if 
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think 
on these things."! 

This truly excellent and lovely character, is formed 
inslrumeritaUy hj the precepts of the Bible ; enforced 
by the most powerful motives, and recommended by 
the bright examples exhibited in the lives of eminent 
saints, and the finished and most perfect example of 
our Lord and Saviour: but efficiently created by the 
grace of that Holy Spirit, whom the Bible reveals; 
and to whose gracious aid we are directed by it to 

* John xiii. 34. Ileb. xiii. 1. 1 Pet. iii. 8. 1 John iii. 23, John 
xiii. 35. 1 John iii. 14 ; iii. 16. 
t Phil. iv. 8. 



274 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE 

look for a new heart, and every grace and virtue that 
can adorn the Christian character. 



SECTION II. 

INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE IN PROMOTING MAN's HAPPINESS. 

The Bible presents to the believing Christian nu- 
merous sources of enjoyment. The change produced 
by faith in his relative state, his sanctification, his 
adoption, his trust in God, his support and consolation 
under afflictions, his hope of heaven, are all so many 
sources of pure enjoyment. 

1. The change produced in a sinner^s relative state 
by faith. 

This is truly great and wonderful. He was an 
enemy to God, but he is now his friend ; God is re- 
conciled to him. He was condemned, but now he is 
freely and fully pardoned, and delivered from the 
dreadful sentence of condemnation. He was an alien 
from the family of God, but now he is an adopted 
member of it. He was a slave to Satan, but now he 
enjoys the freedom of Christ. He was standing on 
the brink of perdition, but now his feet are treading 
the path of life. He was destitute of hope, but now 
he has the hope of heaven. What a wonderful 
change ! Has not every one who has experienced it 
abundant reason to rejoice ? A criminal who, on the 
day appointed for his execution, receives a pardon, 
and is permitted to depart from his prison, rejoices 
greatly. But much greater reason has a pardoned 
sinner, set free from the condemnator3/ sentence of the 
divine law, to rejoice. Sometimes, indeed, individuals 
passing through this great change, have such vivid 
impressions of things, such terrific apprehensions of 



IN PROMOTING HAPPINESS. 275 

their danger, and are delivered so suddenly, and have 
so strong a conviction of their deliverance, and such 
an assurance of God's reconciled favour and forgiv- 
ing love, that they rejoice with joy unspeakable and 
full of glory. This high degree of joy will indeed 
subside. But reflection on this change will always 
be a source of pleasure. 

2. The Christian's sanctification is another spring of 
enjoyment. 

Sin has disturbed the peace of the soul, and intro- 
duced into it the war of conflicting elements. The 
harmonious movement of its powers is gone. Wicked 
and disorderly passions have been gendered, which 
awaken and irritate conscience. These passions are 
the cause of continual unhappiness. Pride exposes a 
man to constant disappointments and mortification. 
Envy corrodes peace of mind. Hatred revolves dark 
and gloomy thoughts. Revenge fires the soul with 
desperate designs and bloody deeds. The Bible con- 
demns these wicked passions, and requires their subju- 
gation and final extirpation; and just in proportion as 
a Christian is sanctified, their subjugation is effected, 
and their extirpation carried on; and in their place 
are substituted the opposite aff'ections of benevolence, 
forgiveness, love, humility, and meekness; so that 
while the Christian escapes the pains produced by the 
indulgence of wicked passions, he receives the plea- 
surable emotions that spring from the opposite affec- 
tions which he cherishes and cultivates. These are, 
in their own nature, delightful, and at the same time 
well pleasing to God. "A meek and quiet spirit'^ is 
an ornament " in the sight of God of great price.'' 
"Be clothed with humility," says Peter, "for God 
resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble." 



276 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE 

3. The Christian's adoption into God's family is a 
fruitful source of enjoyment. 

"Behold," says John in holy admiration, "what 
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, 
that we should be called the sons of God : therefore 
the world knoweth us not. Beloved, now are we the 
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall 
be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall 
be like him ; for we shall see him as he is.'^ To as- 
sure believers of their adoption, "the Spirit itself 
beareth witness with our spirits that we are the chil- 
dren of God;" "and because ye are sons, God hath 
sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, cry- 
ing, Abba, Father."* Astonishing grace ! Wonder- 
ful condescension ! Admirable relation ! Is not this 
happiness? A believing sinner is permitted to look 
up to the great Jehovah, the Creator and Possessor 
of the universe, and call him Father ! Being a child 
he has access to him at all times ; and may daily enter 
into the holiest of all, and converse by prayer and 
thanksgiving and praise, with infinite Majesty on the 
mercy-seat, with the freedom of a child, and with the 
confidence of faith. He may ask what he will, and 
if he believe, he will receive a gracious answer.t What 
expectations may not a man indulge who has for his 
Father, the King of the universe ! 

4. The Christian's trust in God is another source of 
enjoyment. 

He believes that the Lord reigns, over this and 
all worlds ; that he knows and sees all things and 
events; and that nothing can take place without 
his sovereign permission. Promises of the most en- 
couraging kind are given to inspire his heart with a 

* 1 John iii. 1. 2. Rom, viii. 16, Gal iv. 6. t John xiv. 13, 14 



IN PROMOTING HAPPINESS. 277 

believing confidence. " Trust in the Lord, and do 
good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou 
shalt be fed. Dehght thyself also in the Lord ; and 
he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Com- 
mit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him : and he 
shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy 
righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the 
noon day.'^ " For the Lord God is a sun and shield : 
the Lord will give grace and glory : no good thing 
will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 
Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.^^ 
" Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by praj^er 
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests 
be made known unto God. And the peace of God 
which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts 
and minds through Christ Jesus.'^* By such gracious 
and condescending promises does God encourage his 
children to put their trust in him, at all times, and 
for every thing they need. With what believing con- 
fidence may they repose themselves in his care and 
kindness ? What a source of comfort and enjoyment 
is trust in their heavenly Father! 

5. The support and consolation which the Bible 
affords to believers under afflictions, are another spring 
of enjoyment. 

In a preceding chapter, it was shown that it teaches 
us to regard afflictions as coming from the love which 
God bears to his people; that they are needful to 
them; that they are wisely suhed to their state, and 
are proportioned to their strength ; that they are de- 
signed for their spiritual benefit and improvement; 
and that, after believers have endured them for a time, 
they will be delivered from them. Here is ample 

* Ps. xxxvii. 3—6 ; Ixxxiv. 11,12. Phil. iv. G . 
24 



278 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE 

support; here is rich consolation. It is not without 
reason that James says, '^ my brethren, count it all 
joy, when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing 
this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.'^* 

6. Finally, the hope of future happiness is a rich 
source of pure enjoyment. 

In illustrating this particular we refer the reader to 
John xiv. 1-3. 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. chapter v. 1-4 ; quot- 
ed in chapter ii. page 181, and only add what follows 
the last. " Now he that hath wrought us for the self 
same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the 
earnest of the Spirit. Therefore, we are always con- 
fident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the 
body, we are absent from the Lord: (for we walk by 
faith, not by sight:) we are confident, I say, and will- 
ing rather to be absent from the body, and to be 
present Vv^ith the Lord.'^t 

So firmly is the foundation laid for a believer's 
hope in regard to the next world, and so confidently 
may he indulge the hope of seeing the Lord, and en- 
tering on "the inheritance of the saints in light." 
What a support is this blessed hope against the fear 
of death ! Death can do a Christian no harm. Does 
it deprive him of his earthly wealth ? It puts him 
into possession of heavenly and eternal riches. Does 
it remove him from his friends? It connects him 
with better and nobler friends. Does it take him 
from the church on earth ? It brings him to the church 
in heaven. Does it separate him from the means of 
grace ? It conveys him to a place where he will not 
need these means. Does it remove him from this 
sinful world ? It leads him to a world of glory. " 
death, where is thy sting ? grave, where is thy 

* James i. 2, 3, t 2 Cor. v. 5-^S. 



ON DOMESTIC SOCIETY. 279 

victory? The sting of death is sin: and the strength 
of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth 
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 



SECTION III. 

THE INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE ON DOMESTIC SOCIETY. 

Its influence on domestic society is certainly most 
salutary and happy. In Christian countries the change 
produced by the sacred Scriptures, is very perceptible 
and most beneficial. The Bible, where ever its au- 
thority is admitted, has put an end to polygamy. 
This is eminently conducive to domestic happiness. 
The injurious efl*ects of having more than one wife, 
appeared in the families of Jacob, Elkanah, David, 
and Solomon. This custom always has been destruc- 
tive to domestic peace and comfort, and always will 
be so. Strife and contention will exist not only be- 
tween the rival wives, but also between the diflerent 
sets of children. No man can love two or more 
wives, as he ought to love his wife ; nor can he ren- 
der to them the duty which he owes to one wife. At 
the original institution of marriage, one woman was 
assigned to one man ; and the reason assigned by the 
prophet for this, was a regard for the instruction and 
training of children. " And did he not make one ? 
Yet had he the residue of the Spirit ; and wherefore 
one ? That he might seek a godly seed.^^^ 

Another safeguard thrown around domestic life, 
by the Bible, is the wise restriction laid on divorce. 
No man is allowed to put away his wife, except for 
one cause, and that is fornication. t Wherever the 

* Mai. ii. 15. t Matthew v. 32. 



280 INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE 

liberty of divorce is extended beyond the limits set by 
our Saviour, the purity, peace, and happiness of the 
married Hfe, are impaired. Marriages will be con- 
tracted without due reflection; divorces will multiply, 
and drawdown upon children all their evil conse- 
quences. But when it is known that a dissolution of 
the marriage contract can be obtained only for one 
cause, greater care will be taken in selecting partners 
for life ; severer restraints will be laid on wandering 
desires; more forbearance will be exercised by hus- 
band and wife, and kinder feelings will be cherished 
toward each other. 

The relative position both of the husband and of the 
wife, is clearly defined by the sacred Scriptures, and 
their duties accurately stated. Submission, reverence, 
and obedience, are the duties enjoined on the wife. 
Love, tenderness, and honour, are required from the 
husband towards his wife.* 

The authority attributed to parents over their chil- 
dren, by the Bible, is sufficient for the exercise of due 
government, but it is limited. Parents are required 
to provide for their children, to correct them, to avoid 
provoking them to wrath, to bring them up in the nur- 
ture and admonition of the Lord.t Children are re- 
quired to honour and obey their parents, to hsten to 
their instructions, and to observe their command- 
ments.J 

In like manner the sacred Scriptures state distinct- 
ly the duties of masters towards their servants, and of 
servants towards their masters. How obviously these 
precepts accord with the relations on which they are 

* Ephes. V. 22-24. 33; v. 25. Col. iii. 12. 1 Pet. iii. 7. 

t 1 Tim, V. 8. Prov. xiv. 1 8. Ephes. vi. 4. 

t Ephes. XX. 12. Prov. i. 8 ; iv. 1 ; vi. 20. Eph. vi. 1. 



ON DOMESTIC SOCIETY. 281 

founded, and how eminently conducive are they to 
secure the peace, comfort, and happiness of domestic 
Hfe. 

Suppose the different memlDers of a family, husband 
and wife, parents and children, the heads and domes- 
tics, were all, under the influence of religion, to prac- 
tise carefully their respective duties, as enjoined in 
the Bible, what a blessed family would it be ! Peace 
and harmony, love and kindness, would reign in it; 
discord, contention, and strife would flee away. It 
would be an image of heaven. 

Extend the supposition. Suppose all the members 
of a community were faithfully to practise the duties 
enjoined on them in the Bible, would not that com- 
munity be but a larger and blessed family ? Extend 
the supposition to a nation, and you see a still larger 
family of love and happiness. Carry the supposition, 
around the globe, and you have one blessed family 
spread through every quarter and clime of the earth ; 
all united by the bands of brotherly love ; all dwelling 
in peace and happiness ; all worshipping the same 
universal Parent and Creator; all rejoicing in the same 
blessed Redeemer; all exulting in hope of the same 
glorious inheritance. Where now are wars and gar- 
ments rolled in blood ? They have ceased. Where 
are prisons and dungeons, bars and bolts and chains? 
Become unnecessary, the former are demolished, the 
latter, converted into other forms, are used for agricul- 
tural purposes. 

Is not that book, which imparts to a believing man 
a character so benevolent, so elevated, so noble, and 
which is so conducive to his personal happiness ; a book 
which so guards the purity, the peace, the comfort, the 
happiness of domestic life ; a book, which^ if it were 

24* 



282 CONCLUSION, AND 

believed and duly regarded by all men, would convert 
the whole earth into a paradise of peace, innocence, 
and love — is not this book divine ? Is it not the work 
of infinite wisdom and goodness ? Is it not the pre- 
cious gift of God to his erring, sinful, wandering, and 
wretched creatures; to reclaim them from their wan- 
derings, to lead them in right paths, and to conduct 
them to heaven? Truly said Paul, "All scripture is 
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doc- 
trine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
righteousness ; that the man of God may be perfect, 
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.'^ 

CONCLUSION. 

Let the reader now take a brief comprehensive 
view of the proofs, that have, in this volume, been 
presented, of the truth and divine authority of the 
Bible. 

1. We have considered the plan which infinite wis- 
dom was pleased to adopt, in communicating a reve- 
lation to our fallen race. The Bible is composed of 
numerous smaller books, written by men of various 
habits of life, and various culture of mind ; living in 
diflerent periods, and some many ages apart. The 
books of the Old Testament, when written, were 
delivered to the Jewish nation for safe keeping, and 
those of the New Testament, to the Christian church. 
The truth of God's revelation was professedly estab- 
lished by miracles and by prophecies; a test to which 
no other religion that has gained a footing in the world, 
was ever subjected. Such a plan suited the divine 
Author of our holy religion, who lives through all time, 
and can control and use as he pleases all minds j but 



REVIEW OF THE ARGUMENT. 2S3 

was wholly unsuited for the establishment of an im- 
posture ; a plan which no individual impostor, nor 
combination of impostors, would dare to adopt ; be- 
cause they could not possibly act on it with success. 

2. The miracles wrought by Moses, and by Jesus 
Christ, and his apostles, were plain and palpable mira- 
cles, astonishingly great and innumerable. They were 
wrought, not in private, before a few select friends, 
but in the most public manner, and before enemies as 
well as friends. They challenged investigation. No 
one could discover any fallacy in them. Enemies 
could not contradict them. All who saw them were 
compelled to admit their reality. They furnished 
those who wrought them with the clearest and most 
indisputable evidence, that they were commissioned 
by God to act as his ambassadors, and to deliver his 
messages. 

3. A spirit of prophecy pervaded the church, from 
Moses to Malachi, the last prophet under the Old Tes- 
tament ; and from our blessed Redeemer to John, who 
wrote the book of Revelations. We have seen the 
recorded fulfilment of many predictions, and the ful- 
filment of that class of prophecies concerning our Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ, found in the law of Moses, in the 
prophets, and the psalms of David. 

4. We have seen how interesting and important are 
the instructions contained in the Bible in regard to 
God and man ; and that what it teaches of the divine 
perfections, and of God, as the Creator, Preserver, 
Sovereign, and final Judge of the world ; and of the 
natural, moral, and future history of man ; is all con- 
sonant to the dictates of enlightened reason. These 
instructions were delivered by men living in different 
ages, and in circumstances widely different^ some of 



284 CONCLUSION, AND 

them plain unlettered men; and yet all harmonize in 
■what they teach, and deUver their messages without 
hesitation, and with the confidence of men assured 
they are speaking the truth. The matter, the man- 
ner, and the harmony of their communications, all 
prove they were inspired by the Holy Ghost, to deli- 
ver God's messages to his sinful and erring creatures. 

5. The moral code of the Bible is truly admirable 
and divine. It is so elevated and spiritual, so pure 
and holy, so compendious, and yet so particular, that, 
from its superiority over all other systems, from its per- 
fection, from its exemption from the debasing effects of 
human depravity, and from the provision made for 
securing its observance, we have derived conclusive 
arguments in favour of its divine original and au- 
thority. 

6. The work of redemption, as exhibited in the 
Bible, in its origin in the eternal counsels of the Holy 
Trinity, in its development, in its execution, in its ap- 
plication, in its benefits and results, and in its final 
consummation, evidently bears the impress of its di- 
vine Author ; and, like all his other works, is seen, in 
its own light, to be the work of God. The concep- 
tion of it never would, nor could, have entered the 
human mind, if it had not been revealed. 

7. The adaptation of the instructions and doctrines 
of the Bible to the wants and the necessities of man- 
kind, furnishes clear proof that it came from infinite 
wisdom, goodness, and mercy. 

8. And finally, the beneficial influence of the Bible 
in forming the character, and in promoting the happi- 
ness of man, and its beneficial influence on domestic 
life, and human society, in all its forms, clearly points 
to the great and heavenly source from which this 



REVIEW OF THE ARGUMENT. 2S5 

sacred influence comes, and proves the Bible to be 
divine. 

Now, when all these proofs are combined into one 
view and dwelt upon, do they not conclusively and 
irresistibly evince the Bible to be God's book, written 
by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ; and 
that we are bound to praise him for this heavenly 
hght, which he has thrown upon our path, to guide 
us to eternal life and happiness ? 

To these questions the reader may be ready to give 
an affirmative answer. He may have a deep, un- 
wavering conviction of the divine truth and authority 
of the Bible ; he may sincerely believe that it contains 
a revelation from God ; and yet be destitute of that 
faith which saves the soul. A speculative faith may 
be of service to him in this world, in restraining the 
corrupt propensities and evil passions of his nature ; 
but it will not put him in possession of that great sal- 
vation which the Bible reveals and offers. The reve- 
lation of God demands a different reception; it must be 
embraced with the heart. Reader, you may study the 
Bible, so as to become well acquainted with its inter- 
esting and varied contents ; you may so learn its doc- 
trines as to be able to state them in a clear and con- 
sistent manner, and to defend them ably and success- 
fully ; and yet be blind to the beauty and excellency 
of divine truth. " The natural man (that is, the un- 
renewed man) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of 
God ; for they are foolishness unto him : neither can 
he know them ; because they are spiritually discern- 
ed. '^ To see the beauty, excellency, and glory of 
divine truth, spiritual illumination is needed. To un- 
derstand the doctrines of divine revelation, in a saving 
manner, they must be taught by the Holy Spirit in the 



286 CONCLUSION. 

inner mind. It is his province, like the rising sun, to 
throw a glorious light over the firmament of divine 
truth, and to show every object in that firmament 
clearly and distinctly. In this internal and heavenly 
light, you must see and contemplate the doctrines of 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus seen, they will ap- 
pear wise, lovely, and captivating. In this light you 
must see yourself, and discover your sinfulness and 
guilt, your wretchedness and helplessness. In this 
light you must see the excellency of that law whicli 
you have violated, the infinite majesty of the Law- 
giver whom you have insulted, and the dreadful nature 
of that curse which you have incurred. Thus con- 
victed, confounded, and abased, you must prostrate 
yourself in the dust of humiliation, and sincerely re- 
pent of all your sins. In this light you must contem- 
plate the Saviour, and see his fulness and loveliness, 
his suitableness and all-sufficiency. Captivated with 
the view, you must commit yourself into his hands; 
taking him to be your prophet, priest, and king ; rely- 
ing on his atonement and righteousness for acceptance 
with God, and justification in his sight ; willing to be 
saved by him on his own terms and in his appointed 
way, and to give all the glory of your salvation to his 
free, rich, and sovereign grace. 

This is the faith which the Scriptures require ; a 
faith wrought in the soul by the blessed Spirit ; a faith 
that unites to the Redeemer, and secures an interest 
in all his merits and grace; a faith that ^^ works by 
love, purifies the heart, and overcomes the world.'^ 
Thus believe, and you will be assured by your per- 
sonal experience that the gospel is true : for says the 
apostle^ " He that believeth on the Son of God hath 



CONCLUSION. 287 

the witness in himself/'"^ Be satisfied with no infe- 
rior faith. Beseech God most earnestly and importu- 
nately to work, by his Holy Spirit, this faith in your 
heart. For " he that believeth on him is not con- 
demned : but he that believeth not is condemned 
already; because he hath not believed in the name 
of the only begotten Son of God.^t 

* 1 John V. 10. t John iii. 18. 



THE END. 



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